Here we go with Nancy Pelosi’s strategy to take down Donald Trump
Yesterday, now-former Special Counsel Robert Mueller all but called for the House to begin the impeachment process against Donald Trump for obstruction of justice. Now all eyes are on Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, because it’s ultimately her decision – though the public seems to have already made the decision for her. This morning Palmer Report spelled out that Pelosi clearly has something up her sleeve, as she wouldn’t be delaying the inevitable without a good reason.
Today, Pelosi responded by announcing that a full House vote will be held next week to formally hold William Barr in contempt of Congress. That’s not the kind of movement that most people want to see right now, but it is a sign that whatever her plan is, she’s finally starting to put it into motion. The House Judiciary Committee voted weeks ago to hold Barr in contempt, and Pelosi could have held the full House vote at any time. But for some reason she’s been waiting – until now.
There are at least a couple things in play that could help explain why Pelosi has been waiting to hold Barr in contempt, and why she’s finally moving forward with it. For instance, Barr is facing a federal judge’s deadline to publicly release the redacted Flynn-related portions of the Mueller report by tomorrow. Based on what we all learned earlier this month about Flynn’s testimony and evidence against Trump, this could be a game changer.
Barr now has a difficult decision to make. If he complies with the judge’s order tomorrow, he’ll be unleashing crucial evidence of Donald Trump’s guilt into the public domain, thus likely angering Trump. If Barr refuses to comply, the judge will hold him in contempt – and the courts have contempt remedies that are far more severe and immediate than what Congress can dish out. So by the time Pelosi is holding Barr in contempt next week, she’ll either have a crucial piece of the Trump impeachment puzzle in her hands, or she’ll be moving against Barr after a judge has already made punitive moves against him. Either way, she’ll have a stronger hand next week than if she’d held the Barr contempt vote two weeks ago.
That said, there could be a lot more to Nancy Pelosi’s strategy than we know about. She can read the rising pro-impeachment poll numbers as well as anyone, and she knows that she’ll have to start the impeachment process against Trump sooner or later. The question is whether she can do it in a manner so devastating to Trump, the GOP Senate will end up having to consider removing him in the hope of protecting its own reelection odds.
One big hint at Nancy Pelosi’s strategy: she’s apparently not looking to dodge the impeachment issue. She’s set to appear on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC tonight, and she knows that the very first question will be about impeaching Donald Trump. We do not expect her to announce tonight that she’s moving forward with impeachment. But she wouldn’t be going on television like this if she didn’t have some kind of bone to throw the pro-impeachment crowd – and it has to be something more than merely holding Barr in contempt.
