Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected calls Thursday for a full House vote on an impeachment inquiry, saying she’s confident Democrats can proceed without needing to take that formal step.
Mrs. Pelosi, in a letter to the chamber’s top Republican, also suggested President Trump continues to build the case against himself, after he publicly invited China to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Mrs. Pelosi said that amounted to “asking yet another foreign power to interfere in the upcoming 2020 elections.”
She was responding to a letter from Rep. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, who urged Mrs. Pelosi to suspend her impeachment push until she comes up with a set of rules to govern it.
He said past impeachment inquiries have laid out guidelines about access to evidence, the ability of the president’s lawyers to participate, and what kind of powers the minority party will have to call its own witnesses.
Mrs. Pelosi last week declared the House was engaged in an impeachment inquiry but has not said what that means in concrete terms.
Instead, she’s said she’s leaving it to committees to pursue leads.
Republicans say without a formal vote by the whole chamber, there is no inquiry.
Mrs. Pelosi flatly rejected that reasoning.
“The existing rules of the House provide House committees with full authority to conduct investigations for all matters under their jurisdiction, including impeachment investigations,” she said. “There is no requirement under the Constitution, under House rules, or House precedent that the whole House vote before proceeding with an impeachment inquiry.”
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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