Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House will take steps next week to transmit the articles of impeachment against United States President Donald Trump, ending a three-week standoff but confronting the Senate with only the third trial in US history to remove a chief executive.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Pelosi said Friday she was proud of their "courage and patriotism" and warned that senators now have a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president.
"In an impeachment trial, every Senator takes an oath to do 'impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws,"' Pelosi wrote. "Every Senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the President or the Constitution."
The trial could begin next week. The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach a president, but the Senate the ability to render a verdict when it convenes as the Court of Impeachment.
Pelosi was particularly upbeat as she strode through the Capitol, despite the mounting pressure on her to quit delaying the trial. Her decision to end the showdown with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not fully bring closure to the question of whether the Senate will consider new witnesses, as some want, shifting pressure on senators to decide.
Trump swiftly signalled his intention of blocking any testimony from John Bolton, the brash former national security adviser who could be a wildcard witness in the trial. Bolton has said he would appear before the Senate if he received a subpoena.
At the same time, a key centrist GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, whose vote is among those most watched, announced she was in discussions with other Republicans on a strategy that would allow the Senate to hear new testimony.
While the rules of Senate trial remain unsettled, the outcome is not. Trump is widely expected to be acquitted of the charges that he abused power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then obstructed Congress in its investigation. No president has ever been removed by the Senate.
"Ridiculous," Trump told Fox News' Laura Ingraham about the speaker's gambit. "Nancy Pelosi will go down as the least successful speaker of the House in the history of our nation," he said.
Asked if he would invoke executive privilege to block Bolton's testimony, Trump said, "Well I think you have to for the sake of the office."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has been working closely with the White House on strategy, said that the Senate is "anxious to get started."
Australian Associated Press
