Nancy Pelosi talks impeachment during annual Presidio breakfast
Just two days from the start of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to Democratic supporters in her home district Sunday morning at her annual New Year breakfast in the Presidio. Jan. 19, 2020
SAN FRANCISCO - Just two days from the start of President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke to Democratic supporters in her home district Sunday morning at her annual New Year breakfast in the Presidio.
Pelosi (D-San Francisco) said public demand for witness testimony, such as from former National Security Adviser John Bolton, will hopefully force Republican senators to call witnesses.
“Since we said it would be important to have witnesses to shed more light on the truth, over 70 percent of the American people have said they wanted to see witnesses," said Pelosi. "I think that is the leverage these Democrat senators have to move Republican senators as well.”
Since the House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump on Dec. 18, more evidence has come to light. Bolton has agreed to testify in the senate trial, the House Intelligence Committee released text messages and photos from Lev Parnas, as indicted associate of Trump' s personal attorney Rudy Guiliani, and Parnas gave an interview to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow in which he said Trump knew of Guiliani's pressure campaign on Ukraine to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter.
“This is the worst transgression," said Pelosi. "What this president did is worse than anything that any president has done. We have to make sure that no president no matter who he or she may be can think they can get away with this.”
Pelosi said it is Congress' duty to provide transparency and accountability. If the Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell and Republican senators refuse to hear new evidence and testimony, the American people will respond.
“He’s never going to be exonerated," said Pelosi. "What’s going to happen is the Senate is going to incriminate itself if it says we don’t want to see witnesses, we’re going to ignore the truth.”
The impeachment trial begins on Tuesday.