The latest: Nancy Pelosi Says Trump 'Is Becoming Self-Impeachable'

[BeyondGeography]

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi derided the Trump administration’s efforts to obstruct Congress, and said that Trump “is becoming self-impeachable,” which is not how impeachment works.

During a Washington Post Live interview with Pelosi, reporter Robert Costa asked Pelosi about the possibility that former White House counsel Don McGahn might refuse to testify before Congress.

“Can you hold him in contempt, Mr McGahn, for refusing congressional demands?” Costa asked.

“Well, we don’t know that he has yet,” Pelosi replied. “Let’s take it one step at a time, let’s see where it goes.”

“And I have said the president is goading us into, wants to goad us into impeachment because he knows, as do I, that that’s not a good thing for the country,” Pelosi continued, and added “But the point is is that every single day, whether it’s obstruction obstruction obstruction obstruction of having people come to the table with facts, or ignoring subpoenas, every single day the president is making a case.”

“He’s becoming self-impeachable, in terms of some of the things that he is doing,” she added.

...Despite Pelosi’s turn of phrase, Trump is actually not going to impeach himself. The House of Representatives that Speaker Pelosi leads would have to do that.

https://www.mediaite.com/donald-trump/not-a-thing-nancy-pelosi-says-trump-is-becoming-self-impeachable/

[gratuitous]

1. But considering what a fuck-up Trump is

Maybe the House of Representatives could impeach Trump? You know, so that it doesn't get fucked up?

[zipplewrath]

2. I never understand this kind of writing

Pelosi isn't stupid, she knows what she is saying. So instead of trying to understand what she is expressing, the author goes on some path down the road to obvious. Yes, the House ultimately would have to formally impeach him. But a bit like a person whose statements are "self incriminating", the House would have to do very little to get articles of impeachment since the president is quickly laying out the case himself.

[BeyondGeography]

4. She isn't stupid, she's very uncomfortable with impeachment

even in the face of incontrovertible evidence which leads to odd phrases like “self-impeachable’ and opens you up to sarcasm.

[StarfishSaver]

11. I don't think she's uncomfortable with it at all. She just wants to make sure it's done right

[Maven]

3. What does that even mean? nt

[lunatica]

13. That he's making the case for his own impeachment.

Which, if you think about, appears to be the case. He thinks that because he isn’t behind bars it means he can do things that are more outrageous. He doesn’t seem to have a concept that every action just adds to previous actions and eventually there is a preponderance of criminal activity. He doesn’t connect the dots.

Give him all the rope he wants. He’ll hang himself and do the job for us.

[Stuart G]

5. k and r Time will tell if Trump goes down, one way or another. nt

[Thomas Hurt]

6. Pelosi is correct as far as that goes...he continues to obstruct and pile other bad acts on what...

he has done. Problem is the value of impeachment is and will continue to be seriously limited.

McConnell has made it clear that there will be no conviction. Hell, given his record he will not even bring it to the floor.

Even if it got to the Senate floor there is not one GOP senator that is not a complete moral coward.

NO conviction no removal from office period.

Pelosi should be using the impeachment process as a means to further expose Trump's bad acts to those of us who are not cult of personality addled mouthbreathers.

Pelosi should use the hearings as a means to turn Trump's narratives on him and make sure Trump is a one term President, just like McConnell claimed he was going to do to Obama.

[BeyondGeography]

8. She says in the clip it would be bad for the country

Worse than not standing up for the Constitution, the rule of law and to blatantly authoritarian behavior by the Executuve branch? We don’t want to be the party that uses its power to fight for democracy? That’s not a positive election issue next year? And if we do that, all our arguments on issues such as health care, social justice and economic fairness somehow go away? I really don’t get her on this.

[shanny]

12. We don't need to care about what the Senate does or doesn't do.

The clock is ticking toward the next election and impeachment does take time, but which would we prefer? To go into the that election season with a boatload of televised hearings of damning testimony and overwhelming facts laid out in public view, with unlawful and anti-Constitutional congressional Republicans obstructing at every turn in public view, with an increasingly unhinged President rage-tweeting blather and nonsense, also in full public view; or, none of those things?

So what if it fires up his base? It would fire up ours too, and ours is not only bigger, it can continue to grow.

[lunatica]

16. Great point!

I have a suspicion this may be one contingency plan because this is how politicians think. In terms of move and countermove.

[Thomas Hurt]

20. If your goal is to remove him from office prior to the 2020 election you should care.

If you are using impeachment hearings as I stated of course it doesn't matter.

[shanny]

21. My goal? Doesn't matter what my goal is: if wishes were fishes we could all have sushi.

But they aren't. Reality is we will not be able to remove him from office prior to the 2020 election. That being the case, we should be doing everything we can to remove him from office by way of the 2020 election. And a big part of doing that is damaging him publicly in every way we can.

[qazplm135]

7. it's pretty clear she's saying

that Trump is digging his own hole and building the case against him for impeachment.

[shanny]

9. "self-impeachable" is a thing?

The House needs to do its job: if this preznit doesn't merit impeachment, who possibly could? And, every time we let the pukes get away with crap like this, they come back with something worse. Enough is enough.

[lunatica]

14. The concept is the same as self-incriminating.

Which he is doing.

[shanny]

15. If the concept is the same as self-incriminating

then say "self-incriminating."

[lunatica]

18. Her words are deliberate because

saying self incriminating is too generic. The way she says it gives it much more specificity. She’s turning the tables on him so whenever he says ‘they’ want to impeach him people will remember she said he’s the one trying to impeach himself.

There’s nothing wrong in using language creatively. He does it all the time, only his use is crude. Crude but effective for his base.

[lunatica]

10. She sure has a knack for needling him

I would be willing to bet that she knows exactly how to respond to him and to the Republicans.

She so good at it that she surprises us too. Good luck to anyone who tries to pin Ms Pelosi down. They’ll fall flat on their face as she skips away. Smiling.

[StarfishSaver]

17. I don't think she skips

She struts and strolls.

[lunatica]

19. I love this!