White House Expects Nancy Pelosi to Yield on Impeachment Delay

By Staff, Agencies

The White House argued Sunday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has put herself in an untenable position by stalling articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump in hopes of shaping the upcoming Senate trial.

The House voted Wednesday to impeach Trump, who became only the third president in US history to be formally charged with “high crimes and misdemeanors.”

Pelosi 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 that the drive for new testimony by Pelosi, D-Calif. and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., would be for naught.

“She will yield. There’s no way she can hold this position,” said Marc Short, the chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence. “We think her case is going nowhere.’’

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., 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 that the holdup was “unfair” and claimed that 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.