On Wednesday, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made it clear after the disastrous Mueller testimony that the House would not be going forward with impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler immediately tried to begin impeachment proceedings against the President shortly after the testimony however he was quickly shot down by the Speaker.
The two met after the testimony during a caucus meeting. Check out what the Daily Caller reported:
Despite the disappointment that Mueller’s performance brought to the Democratic push to remove Trump, New York Rep. Nadler was still anxious to begin drafting articles of impeachment and said House committee chairs could immediately begin doing so, according to four Politico sources.
California Rep. Pelosi reportedly said it was inappropriate to do so at this time, arguing for a “slow, methodical approach,” according to Politico.
Nadler was apparently prepared for Pelosi’s objection, as he described to the Speaker how his committee could proceed without the support of the full House because California Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman has already filed articles of impeachment and these could be used to proceed.
Reportedly, the committee chairman was also ready to rebut arguments that impeachment is political dynamite that has little public support. Nadler suggested that impeachment was not initially support by a vast majority of Americans when President Richard Nixon was the target in 1973.
Pelosi insisted that House Democrats should wait and see what results come from lawsuits that they have advanced in federal court that seek to disclose Trump’s personal finances and tax returns, according to Politico. She also noted that a successful impeachment would surely be defeated in a Republican-controlled Senate while it might set up the Democrats for failure in 2020.
The meeting reportedly ended with general agreement over the need to enforce a subpoena against former White House Counsel Don McGahn, who may have been directed to fire Mueller. Citing immunity, Trump ordered McGahn not to testify before Congress.
Mueller’s testimony was a disaster for Democrats. From the very beginning, Mueller seemed to be confused, nervous and constantly stuttered and mumbled. His testimony did nothing but damage the Democrats narrative against President Trump.
Fox News host Chris Wallace said it best: “This has been a disaster for the Democrats and a disaster for the reputation of Robert Mueller. He has seemed very uncertain with his brief. He doesn’t seem to know what things are in the report.” Wallace said.
He continued, “He has been attacked a number of times, and you would think that almost anybody else would have defended his own integrity and the integrity of the investigation. And over and over Mueller just sits silent and allows the attacks from the Republicans to sweep over him and says nothing. I think it does raise questions about the degree to which he actually was in charge and in control of this report because he doesn’t seem very much in control or charge of what the final report was.”
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