Dear Colleague on Senator McConnell's Untrue Claims Regarding ImpeachmentMcConnell: "Speaker Pelosi wanted leverage ... no such leverage exists."— Burgess Everett (@burgessev) January 8, 2020
"And yesterday we made it clear it will never exist"
She has absolutely no reason to blink, and she knows it. If Bolton won't be called to testify in the Senate, he can be called to testify in the House. The House can then add new evidence to its articles of impeachment (which can be amended), or even open a new investigation into Trump's attack on Iran (although news today out of Iran takes some of the political wind out of those sails. Congress needs to curtail the POTUS's war making powers, but maybe that needs to be done by amending the War Powers Act. Even the demand for that may be altered by the news from Iran.).
McConnell has ruled out a trial without the articles, but if he refuses to comply with Pelosi's request, she can always add new grounds for impeachment later, based on the testimony of Bolton or anyone else the House can get to testify.
The fun part is that McConnell has declared the entire process to be "political." Speaker Pelosi is proving, again, she's the better politician:
In addition, this morning, Leader McConnell said, “We’ll be glad to show [the resolution] to you when we unveil it.” It is important that he immediately publish this resolution, so that, as I have said before, we can see the arena in which we will be participating, appoint managers and transmit the articles to the Senate.I can't say that the Speaker is following the argument of Ben Wittes, but they do seem to be on the same page. The House has a responsibility to try the case in the Senate. It certainly has reasons to request the trial not be rigged, and to know how it will be conducted, so they can prepare their strategy and appoint managers appropriately.
This is going to go on for a bit, and the House is going to forward with further oversight of the Administration. There is no scenario in which McConnell scores a decisive "win." Besides, the guy who says "you have no leverage over me," is trying to make it so by saying so.
Actions speak louder than words.
She's the most political skilled Speaker I know of, other great ones definitely didn't face the obstacles she has. McConnell expects her to chicken out and, as you note, there is no reason for her to chicken out, though I can't think of another Speaker for the past fifty years who probably wouldn't have by now. Anyone think Seth Moulton's Speaker would have done as well?
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