Patriots Impeachment Weekly Wrap-Up: Pelosi Buckles

https://dailycaller.com/2020/01/10/patriots-impeachment-wrap-up-week-11/

After holding the articles of impeachment hostage for several weeks, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signaled Friday that she would be sending them on to the Republican-led Senate “soon.”

Pelosi’s move followed pressure from within her own party in addition to the Senate Republicans’ threats to dismiss the case for “failure to prosecute.” And although former National Security Adviser John Bolton has said that he would testify if subpoenaed, Senate Republicans have given no indication that they will take him up on that offer.

As always, the Daily Caller wades through the most recent stories to break down the most important details and new information.

The key players:

Speaker Pelosi, after repeatedly stating that she would not transmit the articles until she could be certain of a fair trial in the Senate, said Friday that she would be sending the articles over “soon” despite no public concessions from Senate Republicans.

Pelosi To Send Impeachment Articles To The Senate Next Week https://t.co/CxlevaMlgT

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 10, 2020

Missouri’s freshman Republican Senator Josh Hawley may have forced Pelosi’s hand when he filed a resolution last week to dismiss the articles of impeachment if they were not delivered, citing the Democrats’ “failure to prosecute.”

‘They Have No Evidence’: Sen. Josh Hawley To Introduce Measure To Dismiss Articles Of Impeachment In The Senate https://t.co/EoWR4Xj6ZY

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 3, 2020

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell increased the pressure by voicing support for Hawley’s proposed plan.

McConnell Backs Sen. Hawley’s Resolution To Dismiss Impeachment Without House Articles https://t.co/aPmY1qF4yD

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 10, 2020

Seven senators from her own party also ratcheted up the pressure on the House Speaker. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Doug Jones, Chris Murphy, Joe Manchin, Richard Blumenthal, Jon Tester, and Chris Coons each told news outlets that it was time for the Senate to be allowed to do its job.

‘She Should Send Them Over’: Senate Democrats Want Pelosi To End Stalemate Over Impeachment Articles. https://t.co/06uXQlhDwZ

— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) January 9, 2020

Moderate Republican Maine Senator Susan Collins is reportedly working in the Senate to push for allowing additional witnesses in the upcoming trial.

JUST IN: Susan Collins says she’s working with GOP senators to allow Trump impeachment witnesses https://t.co/mfkh3ZFsX3 pic.twitter.com/sLSMnQW4jm

— The Hill (@thehill) January 10, 2020

The White House response:

President Trump has continued to sound off on impeachment, referring often to “presidential harassment” and calling the entire process a “scam.”

PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2020

Pelosi doesn’t want to hand over The Articles of Impeachment, which were fraudulently produced by corrupt politicians like Shifty Schiff in the first place, because after all of these years of investigations and persecution, they show no crimes and are a joke and a scam!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 9, 2020

The hot takes:

Former Fox News personality Kimberly Guilfoyle said that after this, Pelosi would only be remembered for “embarrassing herself and politically crippling her party during a presidential election year.”

Hah! @SpeakerPelosi will not be remembered for anything but embarrassing herself and politically crippling her party during a presidential election year. The impeachment was a sham, Americans know it, & she’s responsible. She deserves nothing more than the boot in Nov. ???????? https://t.co/84GiD84RC0

— Kimberly Guilfoyle (@kimguilfoyle) January 10, 2020

Fox News regular Katie Pavlich took aim at those suggesting that the surgical strike that killed Iranian General Qasem Soleimani was authorized by President Donald Trump in order to “distract” from his impeachment. “Beyond detached from reality,” she tweeted.

Arguing that the Soleimani strike was taken, within a crucial and limited window at the *Baghdad airport* with Abu Mahdi Muhandis also in the car, without civilian casualties, because Trump wanted to distract from impeachment, is beyond detached from reality

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) January 10, 2020

California Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell, who has long insisted that there was absolute proof of Russian collusion, claimed that Speaker Pelosi’s legacy would overshadow Trump’s. “He’ll be a shameful asterisk in history. She’ll be a chapter,” he tweeted. “And while she led his impeachment, she ‘will go down’ for delivering health care to millions & leaving a better future for our kids.”

So @realDonaldTrump will hate this. But @SpeakerPelosi’s legacy won’t be tied to his. He’ll be a shameful asterisk in history. She’ll be a chapter. And while she led his impeachment, she “will go down” for delivering health care to millions & leaving a better future for our kids. https://t.co/netm8NoMoI

— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) January 10, 2020

McConnell stood his ground, saying that he would not haggle with House Democrats with regard to the process in the Senate. “We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment. The House Democrats’ turn is over,” he said.

There will be no haggling with the House over Senate procedure. We will not cede our authority to try this impeachment. The House Democrats’ turn is over. The Senate has made its decision. This is for the Senate, and the Senate only, to decide.

— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) January 8, 2020

Hawley declares victory after Pelosi announces her intention to hand over the articles.

Faced with our motion to dismiss for failure to prosecute her case, Pelosi caves https://t.co/1uG8Mkxx0e

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) January 10, 2020

Public response:

Public response appears to have changed very little while the articles of impeachment remained in the House. FiveThirtyEight’s impeachment tracking poll shows only slight increases in those who favor impeaching the president.

However, over that same time frame, the percentage of Americans who favor removing President Trump from office has declined — and the demographic that showed the greatest shift was independents.

In a poll taken January 5-7, just 7% of Republicans supported removal and 88% opposed. During that same time frame, 81% of Democrats supported removal (9% opposed) and 39% of independents supported removal (42% opposed.)

The same question asked just a few days later, January 8-10, showed a much larger change among independents. Republicans were 8% in favor and 88% opposed while Democrats were 81% in favor and 14% opposed, but among independents, the numbers widened with 34% in favor (a 5% drop) and 45% opposed (a 3% increase).

Check back next week for the latest up-to-the-minute information, commentary and related content.