The White House argued Sunday that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put herself in an untenable position by stalling House-passed articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in hopes of shaping the upcoming Senate trial.
The House voted Wednesday to impeach Trump, making him the third president in U.S. history to be formally charged with "high crimes and misdemeanours." Pelosi has declined to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate until Republicans provide details on witnesses and testimony, forestalling a trial that is likely to result in Trump's acquittal on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
Meanwhile, an influential senator and key Trump ally predicted the drive for new testimony by Pelosi, a Democrat from California, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, would be for naught.
"She will yield. There's no way she can hold this position," said Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice-President Mike Pence. "We think her case is going nowhere."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — a Republican from Kentucky — and Schumer have been at an impasse over the issue of new testimony, leaving open the possibility of a protracted delay until the articles are delivered. Trump complained Saturday the holdup was "unfair" and claimed Democrats were violating the Constitution, as the delay threatened to prolong the pain of impeachment and cast uncertainty on the timing of the vote Trump is set to claim as vindication.
Schumer told reporters in New York "the Senate is yearning to give President Trump due process, which means that documents and witnesses should come forward.. What is a trial with no witnesses and no documents. It's a sham trial."
No comments:
Post a Comment