Feinstein Rips Pelosi for Holding Impeachment Articles: ‘I Don’t See What Good Delay Does’

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) on Wednesday suggested that it is time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to transmit the articles of impeachment against the president to the Senate, remarking, “I don’t see what good delay does.”

The prominent Democrat addressed Pelosi’s refusal to transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, essentially questioning the point of her delay.

“If we’re going to do it, she should send them over,” Feinstein said, according to Bloomberg. “I don’t see what good delay does.”

While Pelosi has yet to signal when she will send the articles to the upper chamber, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) defended her decision, contending that she wanted to “see the arena in which she was playing” and suggesting that she successfully prevented a quick acquittal of the president.

“She wanted to see the arena in which she was playing when it came to a trial so she could appoint impeachment managers,” Schumer stated.

“Now it’s becoming clear that Mitch McConnell will do whatever he can to avoid a fair trial, so she has some idea of what’s happening,” he continued.

Pelosi was rumored to hold on to the articles until the Senate agreed to have former National Security Advisor John Bolton, who said he would comply in the event of a subpoena, testify. However, the Senate GOP has enough votes to block the Democrats’ demands for immediate witnesses, with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) calling for an impeachment trial following the mold of former President Bill Clinton’s 1999 trial.

“The process moved to a period during which the Senate debated and voted that three witnesses should be deposed. I believe that this process — the Clinton approach — worked well,” Collins told reporters, according to the Hill.

With the GOP’s upper hand in the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has signaled that he is prepared to start an impeachment trial without a deal on witnesses. However, Schumer has vowed to continue pressing for his caucus’s demands.

“If you’re afraid of the facts, if you’re afraid of what will come out, if you want to cover it up even in something as weighty and serious as impeachment, you say no witnesses and no documents,” Schumer said on Tuesday.

“Witnesses and documents? Fair trial. No witnesses and no documents? A coverup,” he added.

Pelosi said on Wednesday that she is “waiting to see what the terms are” before transmitting the articles to the upper chamber.

“How we choose our managers depends on what the arena is that we are going into,” she said, echoing Schumer.

“We can’t do it until we see the arena they’re going into,” she added.