Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi implored President Trump to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry recently launched by the House of Representatives, asking him not to “make this any worse than it already is.”
“Speak the truth,” Pelosi delivered her message to the White House during an appearance on Sunday’s 60 Minutes. “Honor your oath of office to the Constitution of the United States. Speak the truth and let us work together to have this be a unifying experience, not a dividing one for our country.”
She added, “Don’t make this any worse than it already is.”
“Don’t make this any worse than it already is.” Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi says President Trump should “honor your oath of office” and cooperate with the impeachment inquiry https://t.co/3BK9r6MTMR pic.twitter.com/758xIduA2y
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 30, 2019
Pelosi’s comments came days after she announced that the Democrat-led House would be opening a formal impeachment inquiry into the president after it became clear that he urged the president of Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, who leads the pack of Democrats competing to take on Trump in 2020, and his son Hunter Biden during a July phone call that was also the subject of a whistleblower complaint.
Trump has adamantly denied any wrongdoing on his part and demanded on Sunday to meet with the whistleblower, who fears being put in “harm’s way” by Trump after the president called the person “close to a spy” and alluded to punishment for spies.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff has indicated that impeachment hearings could begin in the near future and told ABC’s This Week on Sunday that the whistleblower has reached an agreement to testify before the committee “very soon.” He later told 60 Minutes that he plans to subpoena Trump’s personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who also asked the leader of Ukraine to probe Biden, for documents “first thing next week.”
Before announcing the inquiry, Pelosi staunchly opposed pursuing impeachment out of concerns that it would tear the country apart. On Saturday, she dismissed worries that impeachment proceedings could cost Democrats their House majority in 2020, saying, “It doesn’t matter.”
