Pelosi on eve of impeachment vote: ‘In America, no one is above the law’

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told fellow Democrats that they would be “derelict” in their congressional duty if they do not vote on articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday.

In a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated to members of the caucus on the eve of the vote, Pelosi asked fellow House Democrats to “join me on the Floor” on Wednesday morning as the chamber votes on the articles against Trump.

“No Member came to Congress to impeach a President. But every one of us, as our first act as a Member of Congress, stood on the House Floor, raised our hand and took a sacred oath: ‘I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.’ That oath makes us Custodians of the Constitution. If we do not act, we will be derelict in our duty,” she wrote.

Pelosi touted the three-month impeachment inquiry as “fair, transparent and deliberative,” adding that “very sadly, the facts have made clear that the President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit and that he obstructed Congress as he demanded that he is above accountability, above the Constitution and above the American people.”

“In America, no one is above the law,” she wrote.

She included a call to “support and defend our Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” ending her message with “God Bless America!”

White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a tweet later Tuesday that Pelosi’s letter meant that Democrats were trying to “overthrow the will of the voters.”

“Translation: ‘If we as Democrats do not act, we will not accomplish what we set out to do the day President Trump took office – and that is overthrow the will of the voters in 2016,'” she wrote. 

Nearly every House Democrat is expected to vote for the two articles of impeachment against Trump on Wednesday, alleging abuse of power in his dealings with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress by refusing to comply with the inquiry itself.

Trump has blasted the probe, asserting in a scathing letter to Pelosi released by the White House earlier Tuesday that “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”

“It is time for you and the highly partisan Democrats in Congress to immediately cease this impeachment fantasy and get back to work for the American People,” he wrote. 

The House opened its impeachment inquiry into Trump in September after revelations about his actions relating to Ukraine. 

Trump has denied wrongdoing. 

If the House votes to impeach Trump, whether he is removed from office would be decided by a trial in the Senate. Two-thirds of the Republican-led chamber would have to vote to oust Trump in order for him to be removed.  

Pelosi expressed similar sentiments last week, saying the House would be “delinquent” if it did not impeach Trump.

“I wish the president’s actions did not make it necessary, but he did, and we would be delinquent in honoring our oath of office if we did not impeach him for not honoring his oath of office,” Pelosi said during Politico’s Women Rule Summit.

– Rachel Frazin contributed