PELOSI INSISTS ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO MOVE FAST ON IMPEACHMENT
Tells reporter ‘don’t mess with me’ when asked if she hates the president
WASHINGTON — House Democrats moved aggressively to draw up formal articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Thursday, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying he “leaves us no choice” but to act swiftly because he’s likely to corrupt the system again unless removed before next year’s election.
A strictly partisan effort at this point, derided immediately by Trump and other leading Republicans as a sham and a hoax, it is a politically risky undertaking. Democrats say it is their duty, in the aftermath of the Ukraine probe, while Republicans say it will drive Pelosi’s majority from office.
Congress must act, Pelosi said. “The democracy is what is at stake.”
“The president’s actions have seriously violated the Constitution,” she said in a somber address at the Capitol. “He is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit. The president has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardizing the integrity of our elections.”
Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong. He tweeted that the Democrats “have gone crazy.”
At the core of the impeachment probe is a July phone call with the president of Ukraine, in which Trump pressed the leader to investigate Democrats, including political rival Joe Biden. At the same time the White House was withholding military aid from Ukraine, an ally bordering an aggressive Russia.
The speaker delivered her historic announcement in solemn tones at the Capitol, drawing on the Constitution and the Founding Fathers in forcefully claiming Congress’ oversight of the president in the nation’s system of checks and balances. Democrats are already beginning to prepare the formal charges, pushing toward House votes, possibly before Christmas.
But as Pelosi began exiting a news conference two hours later, James Rosen, a reporter for Sinclair Broadcast Group, asked, “Do you hate the president, Madam Speaker?”
What followed was a remarkable display from the famously poised Pelosi.
She stopped near the edge of the podium, jabbed a finger and said tersely: “I don’t hate anybody.”
Pelosi went on to call Trump a “coward” on gun policy, “cruel” on immigration and “in denial” on climate change.
“This is about the Constitution of the United States and the facts that lead to the president’s violation of the oath of office. And as a Catholic I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me.”
She walked away saying, “So don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”
Trump tweeted that Pelosi “just had a nervous fit.”
“She says she ‘prays for the President.’ I don’t believe her, not even close,” he added.