House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow Democrats ahead of Wednesdayâs impeachment hearings to stick to a uniform narrative in response to media questions.
âThis is a very serious event in our country,â the California lawmaker told Democrats Wednesday morning in a closed-door meeting. âWe wish it could have been avoided. None of us came here to impeach a president. All of us take an oath to protect and defend the Constitution, but as I just said, weâre legislating at the same time.â
Pelosi coached Democrats on messaging about President Trump, who the party accuses of abusing the office of the presidency and obstructing Congress.
Pelosi told Democrats, Trump âmust be held accountable, he is not above the law. No president is. And we have a responsibility to make sure that that is the message, not only for today but for the ages.â
Democrats plan two weeks of public hearings featuring many of the witnesses deposed in closed-door sessions by a special impeachment panel.
Pelosi said she had asked Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California, who is overseeing the impeachment proceedings, to provide Democrats with âa narrative at the end about a summation of what happened there.â
She warned Democrats to ânot to get distractedâ if Republicans disrupt the hearings. âThe press will say, âWhat do you think of the Republicans doing this?â They donât think so I donât think about what they think, but I do think that we need to have a common narrative.â
