House Democrats Weigh Move to Delay Senate Impeachment Trial

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi declined to say when she will transmit the articles of impeachment to the Senate, telling reporters she is waiting to see what process is established in the Senate for a trial.

On Wednesday evening, after the House approved a resolution with two articles of impeachment against President Trump, Pelosi said she would wait to find out more about the upcoming Senate trial before determining who the "impeachment managers" will be — the prosecution team representing the House Democrats' case.

Pelosi pushed back when asked if she was contemplating not sending the two articles of impeachment over to the Senate at all, saying "I never raised that possibility."

Before Wednesday's vote, when asked about the prospect of the House withholding the articles, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, told the Washington Examiner he's "in no hurry."

Pelosi is expected to hold her weekly press conference Thursday morning.

McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y, are expected to meet soon to try to negotiate a resolution that will set out the process for the Senate trial. In recent days, McConnell has also said he is closely coordinating with the White House.

Before Wednesday's impeachment vote, a handful of House members considered "withholding the articles" to try to force concessions from McConnell and others on their trial plan.

The discussion comes as Senate Republicans have ramped up talks to hold a quick trial in January that will allow Trump to present a robust defense and would end in his imminent acquittal. Trump and White House officials have also kicked up their Senate outreach with Republican members, inviting them for weekly luncheons or other meetings in recent months.

"If you basically have the leader of the Senate saying I'm going to negotiate completely with the defendant here ... that makes a mockery of the whole process," said California Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier, a member of the House Intelligence Committee. "I think by withholding, you try to negotiate their participation and witnesses. ... It's leverage because [Trump] can't say I'm totally exonerated by the Senate."

Only a handful of Senate Republicans, including Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, have said they would like to remain impartial jurors in the process.

Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, another member of the House Intelligence Committee, defended the idea of holding back the impeachment articles from the Senate.

"When Mitch McConnell publicly abrogates his duty to be a fair juror I think there is a cause ... to take a step back and ask is this the moment to transmit it to the Senate," Himes said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wasn't ready to give his thoughts on the idea, but said it's currently under consideration.

"It's being discussed," Hoyer said. "I think it's an interesting idea and we are going to discuss it."

New Jersey Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said he's heard more about the proposal on social media than on Capitol Hill, but he's not ruling it out as an option.

"I've been hearing it all over Twitter," Malinowski said. "I'm thinking about it."

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