GOP rep: Pelosi is leaving a ‘sad’ legacy

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) said Sunday that Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is leaving a “sad” legacy by withholding the articles of impeachment from the Senate. 

Collins told Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” that the speaker rushed the impeachment of President Trump and now has a “bad case of bad articles of impeachment that have no basis in reality” and “no legislative agenda” for the future. The Georgia representative said the public should be “furious” with Pelosi.

{mosads}“There is nothing in the House for her to do because they have wasted so much time and taxpayer dollars on impeaching this president, that we’re sitting here literally waiting on her to send articles over to try and influence the Senate decision in which she has no control over,” he said. “That’s how sad we’ve become and how sad this Speaker’s legacy is so far.”

The Georgia representative said Pelosi’s withholding of the articles from the Senate “pulled the curtain back, showed everybody that this is simply a political statement against this president to affect the 2020 election.”

Host Maria Bartiromo asked if Pelosi is expected to add the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani as an article of impeachment, and Collins responded that the addition would not be a good idea. 

“I think she would be very tragically mistaken if she thinks she’s going to involve that,” he said. “She’s got a bad case to start with. No need to double down on a terrible case for impeachment.”

The president authorized a strike that killed Soleimani, which has sparked outrage in Iran, last week without first notifying congressional leadership.

The House passed two articles of impeachment against Trump last month, one accusing him of abuse of power and the other alleging obstruction of Congress. The speaker has not turned over the articles to the Senate to allow it to begin its trial, saying she wants Senate leadership on both sides to establish the rules of the trial first.