House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) for his handling of the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump.
In a statement after the Senate voted to acquit Trump of two articles of impeachment, Pelosi labeled McConnell a “rogue leader” and accused him of abandoning his duty.
“Our Founders put safeguards in the Constitution to protect against a rogue president. They never imagined that they would at the same time have a rogue leader in the Senate who would cowardly abandon his duty to uphold the Constitution.”
Pelosi continued to blast Senate Republicans for rejecting a measure to call for new witnesses and documents in the trial and accused them of participating in a cover-up of the president’s actions.
Additionally, Pelosi touted the House vote on December 18 to approve two articles of impeachment against Trump.
“The House defended democracy by passing two articles of impeachment to hold the President accountable for abusing his office for his own personal, political gain at the expense of our national security and the integrity of our elections. The President has been impeached forever.”
“Sadly, because of the Republican Senate’s betrayal of the Constitution, the President remains an ongoing threat to American democracy,” Pelosi said, adding, “With his insistence that he is above the law and that he can corrupt the elections if he wants to.”
“The House will continue to protect and defend the checks and balances in the Constitution that safeguard our Republic, both in the courts of law and in the court of public opinion. Democrats will continue to defend our democracy For The People,” Pelosi added.
Pelosi has previously called McConnell a “rogue leader” after he announced he would coordinate with the White House about how to conduct the Senate’s trial.
The Senate voted to acquit Trump on two articles of impeachment — for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — on Wednesday.