PELOSI SIGNALS AN END TO HER HOLD ON ARTICLES OF IMPEACHMENT; EXPECTS TO RELEASE IT TO SENATE ‘SOON’

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she expects to release her hold on the two articles of impeachment against President Trump “soon,” but for now she is still holding out to learn more about how Republicans plan to conduct a Senate trial.

“No, I’m not holding them indefinitely,” Pelosi told reporters Thursday at a weekly press conference. “I’ll send them over when I’m ready. That will probably be soon.”

Pelosi refused to give any additional information about the timing, saying Democrats want to know what Senate Republicans are “willing to do and when they’re willing to do it.”

Republicans have criticized Pelosi for refusing to take the procedural action of sending the articles to the Senate. The House approved the two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — largely along party lines on Dec. 18.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., attempted to force Pelosi to drop her hold on Tuesday when he announced plans to approve Senate trial rules without the help of Democrats.

Pelosi reiterated Thursday that she wants more information on what those rules would include. But she also indicated that she was not planning a fight over the details.

“All we want to know is what are the rules, it doesn’t mean we have to agree to the rules or we have to like the rules,” she said. “We just want to know what they are.”

At the core of the disagreement is who — if anyone — would act as witnesses during the trial. Democrats want a deal on that up front, while McConnell wants to sort the issue with additional votes after the first phase of the trial, including opening arguments and a period allowing written questions from senators to both the prosecution and the defense.

(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org