A new book reveals that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) refused to allow her fellow House Democrats to impeach then-President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, The Intercept reports.
That new book is called Unchecked: The Untold Story Behind Congress’s Botched Impeachments of Donald Trump.
The book’s billing on Amazon states:
A revealing, behind-the-scenes examination of how Congress twice fumbled its best chance to hold accountable a president many considered one of the most dangerous in American history. The definitive—and only—insider account of both Trump impeachments, as told by the two reporters on the front lines covering them for The Washington Post and Politico.
Those two reporters are Rachael Bade and Karoun Demirjian. Their book is scheduled to be released on Oct. 18.
The push for impeachment
According to The Intercept, which has gotten a sneak peek at the book, there was a strong push by House Democrats to impeach Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. This is the day Congress met to certify the electoral college results of the 2020 presidential election. It is also, of course, the day on which the infamous Capitol protest took place.
The Intercept reports that “on the night of January 6, 2021 . . . leading Democrats pushed hard to impeach then-President Donald Trump the day of the insurrection.” These Democrats include Reps. David Cicilline (D-RI) and Ted Lieu (D-CA).
Cicilline and Lieu are said to have started drafting the articles of impeachment while lobbying other members of the House Judiciary Committee to impeach Trump. They then turned to Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) and Joe Neguse (D-CO), who recommended trying first for 25th Amendment removal before moving on to impeachment.
But, as we now know, none of this ever happened on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump was not impeached until Jan. 13, 2021.
Pelosi’s resistance
A large part of why House Democrats did not impeach Trump on Jan. 6, 2021, appears to be Pelosi.
The Intercept reports:
Pelosi’s staff first tried to tell Cicilline that there were technical reasons it couldn’t be done, arguing that the House was in joint session and therefore, can’t impeach. But of course, they could adjourn the joint session after certifying the election and gavel in a new session. Instead, Pelosi decided to gavel the chamber closed, and everybody went home.
Over the following week, Pelosi kept resisting until the pressure to impeach Trump became too great. And, that’s when, on Jan. 13, 2021, House Democrats impeached Trump for the second time.
The book’s reporting, if true, sure does provide some additional details as to what was going on behind the scenes at that time. It also raises some interesting questions, including what Pelosi and Democratic leadership’s real reason was for resisting Trump’s impeachment. Pelosi has yet to answer that question.