Pelosi declines to talk impeachment while abroad

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a press conference in Madrid on Monday that she would not discuss the impeachment inquiry into President Trump while abroad.

When asked about the House proceedings, Pelosi cited her policy of not criticizing U.S. presidents during overseas trips.

“We aren’t here to talk about impeachment of the president of the United States,” she said, according to Reuters. “We’re here to talk positively about our agenda to save the planet for future generations.”

Speaker Pelosi at a climate change conference in Madrid: “We aren’t here to talk about impeachment or the President of the United States. … When we travel abroad we don’t talk about the President in a negative way and we save that for home” https://t.co/QcVOA6QYki pic.twitter.com/kXYLZE7aaW

— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 2, 2019

Pelosi made the remarks while leading a congressional delegation at the United Nations climate summit in Spain.

“Our delegation is here to send a message that Congress’s commitment to take action on the climate crisis is ironclad,” she said.

Her comments came on the same day that Trump left Washington for a NATO meeting in London.

The president has been openly critical about the timing of the House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing, which is scheduled for Wednesday, when Trump will still be overseas.

“The do-nothing Democrats decided when I’m going to NATO … that was the exact time — this is one of the most important journeys that we make as president,” Trump told reporters on Monday.

The Judiciary Committee on Wednesday will hear from legal scholars as Democrats weigh whether the evidence turned up in their weeks-long impeachment inquiry warrants the drafting of articles aimed at removing Trump from office.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has also criticized the timing of the hearing.

“I regret that they’ve chosen to hold these hearings at the same time that the president and our entire national security team will be traveling to Europe to London to work on these matters,” Pompeo said Monday on “Fox and Friends.” “It’s very unfortunate.”