Trump says ‘Do Nothing Dems’ want to ‘Do Nothing’ with impeachment articles
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}President Trump on Thursday said the “Do Nothing” Democrats now want to “Do Nothing” with the articles of impeachment adopted overnight, responding to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's suggestion that she could hold off on sending the case to the Senate for an impeachment trial.
“I got Impeached last night without one Republican vote being cast with the Do Nothing Dems on their continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history,” Trump tweeted early Thursday. “Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles & not deliver them to the Senate, but it’s the Senate’s call!”
He added: “’The Senate shall set the time and place of the trial.’ If the Do Nothing Democrats decide, in their great wisdom, not to show up, they would lose by Default!”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The president riffed on his "Do Nothing Democrats" label after Pelosi, D-Calif., signaled late Wednesday that she wants reassurances that the Senate would hold a fair trial before sending over the two articles of impeachment.
“We’ll make a decision as a group, as we always have, as we go along,” Pelosi said Wednesday night, when asked what would qualify as a “fair trial” in the Senate.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Again, we’ll decide what that dynamic is, but we hope that the resolution of that process will be soon in the Senate,” she continued.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., will soon discuss the framework for a Senate trial—including the start date and how long it could last. Republicans hoped to vote on a resolution outlining these terms before members leave for Christmas recess, but if Pelosi holds up articles in the House, that would not be possible.
Pelosi has criticized McConnell, questioning his ability to hold a “fair trial.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Let me tell you what I don't consider a fair trial," she told the crowd of reporters. "This is what I don't consider a fair trial -- that Leader McConnell has stated that he's not an impartial juror, that he's going to take his cues, in quotes, from the White House, and he is working in total coordination with the White House counsel's office."
"It's up to the senators to make their own decision working together, hopefully in recognition of their witnesses that the president withheld from us, their documents that the president withheld from us and we would hope that that information would be available in a trial to go to the next step. Because that's another level in terms of conviction, in terms of this," Pelosi said. "But right now the president is impeached."
The House voted Wednesday to impeach him for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” related to his dealings with Ukraine, making him the third American president ever to be impeached. The president, though, has touted the fact that not a single Republican voted for either article of impeachment proposed by the Democrats.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Meanwhile, just hours after he was impeached by the House, the president tweeted a meme of himself, saying Democrats’ impeachment push was an attack on his supporters.
“In reality, they’re not after me, they’re after you,” says the text over a black-and-white photo of the president. "I'm just in the way."
At the center of the impeachment inquiry is Trump’s efforts to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch politically related investigations—regarding former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s dealings in Ukraine, as well as issues related to the 2016 presidential election. The president’s request came after millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen, which Democrats have argued shows a “quid pro quo” arrangement. Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News’ Nick Givas contributed to this report.