Pelosi’s about to hit send on the impeachment articles
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell may have said it best in a comment to reporters Friday: “At last.”
At long last, the House is going to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. That’s not happening Friday, but it is happening SOON.
Pelosi made it official in a letter sent to colleagues Friday morning, saying she will bring the articles of impeachment to the floor next week. That will allow the Senate to take up its part of the impeachment process — the trial.
Pelosi addressed the trial in her letter, writing: “In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to ‘do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’ Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution.”
That letter appears to now end the weeks-long standoff between the House and Senate over the impeachment articles, after Pelosi delayed sending the two articles of impeachment last month to the Senate while Democrats pressed McConnell to agree to have witnesses in the trial.
The Senate didn’t agree to witnesses — but Pelosi argued that compelling evidence of impeachable conduct, which is enough for removal, emerged in the weeks since the House voted to impeach Trump. It’s not clear whether Pelosi’s effort to withhold the articles will change the trajectory of the Senate trial.
The Point: If you’re looking for closure on the impeachment process, good news came from Nancy Pelosi on Friday: It’s coming.
Monday:
- Top general says letter suggesting US would withdraw troops from Iraq was a ‘mistake’
- John Bolton says he is prepared to testify in Senate trial if subpoenaed
Tuesday:
- Pelosi: McConnell should ‘immediately’ publish impeachment resolution before articles are sent
- Trump appears to backtrack on threat to target Iranian cultural sites
- Trump’s NAFTA replacement moves one step closer to final ratification
Wednesday:
- Trump says ‘Iran appears to be standing down’ following its retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing US troops
- ‘The worst briefing I’ve had’: Senate Iran briefing gets heated
- Iran sent ‘multiple messages’ to US that its attacks were done
- Trump vows to impose ‘punishing’ sanctions on Iran but offers no details
Thursday:
- Senate Republicans are united as they brace for articles of impeachment
- Pelosi says she’ll send impeachment articles when ‘ready,’ but predicts it could be ‘soon’
- House votes to limit Trump’s military action against Iran without congressional approval
Friday:
- Pelosi prepares to send articles of impeachment to Senate
- US unsuccessfully targeted another Iranian military official on same day as Soleimani
- With Iranian oil already sanctioned, US punishes what’s left
And that was the week that was in 15 headlines.
