Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wa.) is walking back comments about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Ca.) decision to hold onto articles of impeachment.
On Thursday, Smith said on CNN that “it is time” for Pelosi to send the articles over to the Senate for a trial. His words immediately sparked a reaction, as they represented a major dissent from Pelosi, who is trying to pressure the Senate into changing its rules for the trial.
But not long after the interview, Smith was walking the comments back.
“I misspoke this morning,” he said on Twitter. “I do believe we should do everything we can to force the Senate to have a fair trial. If the Speaker believes that holding on to the articles for a longer time will help force a fair trial in the Senate, then I wholeheartedly support that decision.”
I am concerned that Senator McConnell won’t have a fair trial and I am with the Speaker that we should do everything we can to ensure he does. Ultimately, I do want the articles sent to the Senate for the very simple reason that I want the impeachment process to go forward.
— Rep. Adam Smith (@RepAdamSmith) January 9, 2020
Smith’s initial dissent was particularly notable because he is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, making him a high-ranking Democrat.
“I am concerned that Senator McConnell won’t have a fair trial and I am with the Speaker that we should do everything we can to ensure he does,” he added in a second tweet. “Ultimately, I do want the articles sent to the Senate for the very simple reason that I want the impeachment process to go forward.”
Pelosi is said to be holding onto the articles of impeachment in hopes that she can maneuver to pressure Republicans into calling witnesses forward against Trump. Senate Republicans have a majority and are largely in control of how the rules and processes of the Senate impeachment trial will be conducted, and they’ve previously indicated a plan to move forward quickly to acquit President Donald Trump.
Once Smith backed off his initial comments, the scorn and criticism only got louder.
Oops! This morning senior House Dem Adam Smith broke ranks with Pelosi, said time to send impeachment articles to Senate. Now: Total reversal, full humiliating climbdown. https://t.co/bKQmWhNPJn
— Byron York (@ByronYork) January 9, 2020
hahahaha!!! This is one of the more humiliating tweets I've ever witnessed.
— Josh Holmes (@HolmesJosh) January 9, 2020
"I said the sky was blue and that was a mistake. It is, in fact, whatever color my leadership says it is." https://t.co/dujLgvry1j
Reminds me of when Pelosi flashed a look at her cheering caucus after they passed impeachment & signaled for them to cut it out, which they immediately did. https://t.co/BgDTkfRZqY
— Josh Dawsey (@jdawsey1) January 9, 2020
During his CNN interview, Smith did say it was “perfectly advisable” for Pelosi to hold onto the articles of impeachment. He also said he thought Democrats could find leverage to create a Senate trial “that would show evidence and bring out witnesses.” But his comments about sending the articles over to the Senate drew the most attention, and his walk-back only seemed to make things worse.
Pelosi, who is under increased pressure to send the articles to impeachment, had not yet responded to Smith’s comments. When asked by reporters this morning when she will send over the articles of impeachment to the Senate, Pelosi said, “I’ll send them over when I’m ready.”