Thread by @MesMitch

Some House Democrats are reportedly urging speaker Nancy Pelosi to withhold the articles of impeachment against Trump in the hope of gaining leverage in a Senate trial.

The Washington Post reports:

The notion of impeaching Trump but holding the articles in the House has gained traction among some of the political left as a way of potentially forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to conduct a trial

on more favorable terms for Democrats. And if no agreement is reached, some have argued, the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denying Trump an expected acquittal.

The gambit has gained some traction inside the left wing of the House Democratic Caucus this week. Rep. Earl

Blumenauer (D-Ore.) said Wednesday, as his colleagues debated the impeachment articles on the House floor, that he has spoken to three dozen Democratic lawmakers who had expressed some level of enthusiasm for the idea of ‘rounding out the record and spending the time to do

this right.’ ...

Republicans have scoffed at the notion of the House withholding the articles, noting it hardly counts as leverage to deny the GOP the ability to remove a president that the party wants to keep in place. Some aides further argued that withholding the articles

would only fuel Republican arguments that Democrats are engaged in a partisan abuse of the Constitution.

McConnell is daring the House to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate. He says Democrats have "cold feet"🤣😒