WASHINGTON ― House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined to take a position Thursday about inherent contempt ― an obscure power that would allow Congress to fine or even jail Trump administration officials who don’t comply with subpoenas ― and once again made it clear that Democrats are extremely hesitant to move forward with the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump. Asked about the House possibly holding Trump administration officials like Attorney General William Barr in so-called inherent contempt, Pelosi laid out how that’s “an option,” but she refused to endorse the idea. “I’m just saying it is an approach,” Pelosi said during her weekly press conference. When pressed to take a position, she responded: “I don’t have to have a position.” Pelosi did refuse to take inherent contempt “off the table,” but she made it clear she wasn’t eager to use the power, mentioning that a preferable outcome would be Trump administration officials complying with the subpoenas from House committees. Democrats haven’t even moved forward with holding Barr in contempt. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Wednesday that he didn’t expect a floor vote on contempt until at least June, when more officials could be added to a resolution. Rank-and-file Democrats might not have the same timetable in mind, but they sounded largely on board with the slow approach earlier this week. Trump has urged his administration not to follow subpoenas and to ignore requests for testimony before House committees. And while agencies and officials seem to have largely disregarded Trump’s instructions, some officials ― like Barr ― have been happy to ignore subpoenas from the House. That’s left Democrats in a difficult position of their own making. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have effectively slowed talk of impeaching Trump by arguing for more investigations. But the White House isn’t cooperating with those investigations, and administration officials are claiming Democrats lack legitimate legislative purposes for their probes. On Wednesday, the White House sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee ― largely imitating a letter the Treasury Secretary sent to the Ways and Means Committee when it refused to turn over Trump’s tax returns ― arguing that it doesn’t need to furnish documents related to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Pelosi called that letter “a joke,” and said it was “beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States, in defiance of our Constitution.” She then said the information that had been requested wasn’t about impeaching the president per se. “It’s about impeachment as a purpose ― a constitutional purpose of justifying, constitutionally and court-wise, a path,” Pelosi said. Essentially, Pelosi is arguing that Democrats need those documents in order to determine whether they move forward with impeachment. It’s a step removed from directly claiming that impeachment proceedings are the legitimate legislative pu
Donald Trump,Nancy Pelosi,United States Congress,william barr,Subpoena,
WASHINGTON ― House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) declined to take a position Thursday about inherent contempt ― an obscure power that would allow Congress to fine or even jail Trump administration officials who don’t comply with subpoenas ― and once again made it clear that Democrats are extremely hesitant to move forward with the idea of impeaching President Donald Trump. Asked about the House possibly holding Trump administration officials like Attorney General William Barr in so-called inherent contempt, Pelosi laid out how that’s “an option,” but she refused to endorse the idea. “I’m just saying it is an approach,” Pelosi said during her weekly press conference. When pressed to take a position, she responded: “I don’t have to have a position.” Pelosi did refuse to take inherent contempt “off the table,” but she made it clear she wasn’t eager to use the power, mentioning that a preferable outcome would be Trump administration officials complying with the subpoenas from House committees. Democrats haven’t even moved forward with holding Barr in contempt. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said Wednesday that he didn’t expect a floor vote on contempt until at least June, when more officials could be added to a resolution. Rank-and-file Democrats might not have the same timetable in mind, but they sounded largely on board with the slow approach earlier this week. Trump has urged his administration not to follow subpoenas and to ignore requests for testimony before House committees. And while agencies and officials seem to have largely disregarded Trump’s instructions, some officials ― like Barr ― have been happy to ignore subpoenas from the House. That’s left Democrats in a difficult position of their own making. Pelosi and other Democratic leaders have effectively slowed talk of impeaching Trump by arguing for more investigations. But the White House isn’t cooperating with those investigations, and administration officials are claiming Democrats lack legitimate legislative purposes for their probes. On Wednesday, the White House sent a letter to the Judiciary Committee ― largely imitating a letter the Treasury Secretary sent to the Ways and Means Committee when it refused to turn over Trump’s tax returns ― arguing that it doesn’t need to furnish documents related to the investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller. Pelosi called that letter “a joke,” and said it was “beneath the dignity of the presidency of the United States, in defiance of our Constitution.” She then said the information that had been requested wasn’t about impeaching the president per se. “It’s about impeachment as a purpose ― a constitutional purpose of justifying, constitutionally and court-wise, a path,” Pelosi said. Essentially, Pelosi is arguing that Democrats need those documents in order to determine whether they move forward with impeachment. It’s a step removed from directly claiming that impeachment proceedings are the legitimate legislative pu
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