ancy Pelosi suggested this week that Democratic leaders should look beyond the short-term question of whether to pursue impeachment against President Trump – something the House speaker is loath to do considering the high political risk and low chance of success – to the possibility of pursuing charges against him once he leaves office.
Pelosi, D-Calif., reportedly referenced this scenario in a meeting with Democrats this week. Politico reported that the House speaker told top committee chairmen: “I don’t want to see him impeached, I want to see him in prison.”
SCHIFF SAYS IMPEACHMENT ‘IS DESTINED FOR FAILURE,’ CALLS GOP ‘CULT OF THE PRESIDENT’S PERSONALITY’
In doing so, she dramatically raised the stakes in the battle between the White House and Congress over the president’s conduct, taking Washington’s already-overheated partisan discord into new territory. And the call presented a talking point that could soon make its way to the 2020 presidential campaign trail, where many candidates support impeachment. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., hinted Wednesday at going a step further when she said on MSNBC that “no one is above the law” and if Trump were any other person he’d be “carried out in handcuffs.”
Pelosi reportedly made the “prison” statement in a meeting this week with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.; House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, D-Md.; and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal, D-Mass. – READ MORE