The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi has informed the public on temporarily withholding the articles of impeachment from the Senate barely 6 hours after President Donald Trump was impeached.
WITHIN NIGERIA learnt that this decision was taken by the speaker having suggested could depend on how the other chamber chooses to conduct its trial on Trump’s removal.
The House has adopted two articles of impeachment charging Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of congressional investigations yet it must pass a second resolution formally naming impeachment managers to present the case in the senate.
According to reports, Pelosi also spoke on not transmitting the articles to the senate shortly after the impeachement process and she cited concerns about an unfair trial on removing President Donald Trump from office at the senate.
On naming the House “managers” who will present the case for removal to the Senate, Pelosi said;
“We cannot name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side.
“So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us. So hopefully it will be fair. And when we see what that is, we’ll send our managers.”
The notion has reportedly gained traction among some on the political left as a way of potentially forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to conduct a trial on more favorable terms for Democrats. And if no agreement is reached, some have argued the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denying Trump an expected acquittal.
Before President Trump was impeached, McConnell signaled that he preferred a relatively short trial where House managers will present the case for removal and Trump’s defense team rebuts it before a summary dismissal.
McConnell boasted that he has closely coordinated the planning of the trial with the White House and has repeatedly predicted Trump would be acquitted. He has also suggested Democrats shouldn’t be allowed to call new witnesses as they attempt to present their case.