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
Oh no, is this supposed to be a threat?
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) January 9, 2020
Pelosi could send the articles today, tomorrow, or sometime next week. It doesn’t really matter at this point, she got what she came for – a media spotlight on McConnell’s rigged trial that lasted several weeks. And she lost nothing. https://t.co/NCdVNTPWlt
McConnell on the Senate floor calls House Democrats' withholding the articles of impeachment a "junior varsity political hostage situation."
— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) January 9, 2020
Hmmmm. Seems like McConnell’s pretty desperate to get those articles now. Remember in December when he rather smugly declared “fine with me” after Pelosi announced she wouldn’t immediately transmit the articles? Well, McConnell’s antsy enough to get those articles now that Senate Republicans started pushing out quotes from congressional Democrats who signaled their interest in the articles’ transmission too. Gee, Mitch, what’s the hurry? Thought everything was just “fine.”
The hurry is Trump’s desperation to be acquitted. The hurry is all the new evidence coming to light that will make Senate Republicans’ sham trial so much more obvious to the public. The hurry is Pelosi’s strategy working just right—give the articles some time to breathe and more evidence of Trump’s guilt will surface. Sure enough, former national security adviser John Bolton said he would testify in a Senate trial if subpoenaed, new emails emerged in fresh reporting from Just Security revealing Trump’s direct role in ordering a hold on Ukraine security assistance, and a federal judge ruled that Giuliani associate Lev Parnas could start sharing new evidence with the House Intelligence Committee. Senate Republicans are suddenly feeling anxious because every day that passes could potentially produce another bombshell that will make their sham trial even more ridiculous.
When asked by a reporter whether she would transmit the articles anytime soon, Pelosi shot back, “Do you listen when I speak? I said when we saw what the arena is that we would be sending members in, then we would send over the articles,” Pelosi explained, reiterating the same point she originally made in December. “We haven’t seen that, so I don’t know how many more times I have to say that and how many times you want to ask it.”
That was directed at McConnell, not the reporter, obviously.
Pelosi reiterates what she said in December about withholding articles of impeachment from Senate:
— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) January 9, 2020
“We need to see the arena in which we are sending our [impeachment] managers. Is that too much to ask?" pic.twitter.com/ZaIKzYzs6j
UPDATE — New from McConnell:
This is a challenging time to create bipartisan agreement. But the Speaker Pelosi has managed to do the impossible. She has created growing bipartisan unity — in opposition to her own reckless games with impeachment.
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) January 9, 2020
Actually, Mitch, the growing unity is Americans wondering why you bragged about skewing the results of any impeachment hearings you are in charge of. We all wonder why you would deliberately stop any testimony, evidence or inquest. We, as a country, wonder why you don’t honor your oath.