Politics - News Analysis

Nancy Pelosi Tells Dems She’d Like to See Trump ‘in Prison’ — Not Impeached

During a meeting with senior Democrats on Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it clear that she does not want to start impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, several people with knowledge of the matter told Politico on Wednesday.

House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler spent part of the meeting urging Pelosi to let his committee start an impeachment inquiry against Trump, the second time he’s made the request in recent weeks.

Pelosi responded, “I don’t want to see him impeached, I want to see him in prison,” multiple people told Politico. People close to Pelosi said she wants Trump to lose in 2020, and then face prosecution for his alleged crimes.

Pelosi is hearing it from both sides, with some calling for impeachment and others telling her to hold off. Most of the lawmakers at the Tuesday night meeting sided with Pelosi, Politico reports, and she has already said any impeachment proceedings must be bipartisan with public support.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, Pelosi said: “Make no mistake, we know exactly what path we’re on. We know exactly what actions we need to take.”

Other Democrats said Pelosi’s comment wasn’t that surprising given her previous criticisms of the president, including saying Trump “is engaged in a cover-up,” that his staff and family should stage an intervention and that the president’s actions “are villainous to the Constitution of the United States.”

Ashley Etienne, a Pelosi spokeswoman said Pelosi and the chairmen “had a productive meeting about the state of play with the Mueller report. They agreed to keep all options on the table and continue to move forward with an aggressive hearing and legislative strategy, as early as next week, to address the president’s corruption and abuses of power uncovered in the report.”

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