Karl Rove slammed Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision to delay sending the articles of impeachment passed by the House to the Senate, in an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
The former adviser to President George W. Bush argued that President Trump deserves a “dignified” impeachment process as he claims was afforded to former President Clinton.
“Americans deserve a dignified conclusion to impeachment, as the Senate gave them with Mr. Clinton in 1999,” Rove wrote. “Impeachment always inflicts trauma on the nation. We can accept that. What the country shouldn’t accept is a continuation of this Democrat-led circus.”
In his op-ed, Rove claims that Pelosi is “venturing into treacherous constitutional territory” in her decision to hold the articles of impeachment as Senate leaders debate on an agreement for the looming trial.
“Mrs. Pelosi presumes to be the arbiter of whether the Senate has a ‘fair process.’ She told reporters: ‘So far, we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us.’ This is more than an invitation to [Senate Majority Leader Mitch] McConnell [R-Ky.] to hear her out — it’s a demand that he clear his plans with her before proceeding,” Rove said.
“Mr. McConnell, the wiliest Majority Leader since Lyndon B. Johnson in the 1950s, won’t capitulate,” Rove continued. “He occupies the high ground of precedent, saying the Senate should proceed as it did with President Clinton. The Senate adopted rules for his trial by a 100-0 vote with the support of freshman Sen. [Charles] Schumer (D., N.Y.), now minority leader.”
At the center of the dispute is the Democratic push for witnesses to be heard at the Senate trial. Moreover, Democrats have cast doubt on some Senate Republicans’ ability to be impartial jurors after McConnell said he will be working in “total coordination” with the White House during the process.
McConnell signaled on Monday the rules on a trial are in limbo until senators return to Washington shortly after the New Year.