CLAIM: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC on Thursday the media’s assertion that she initiated an impeachment inquiry into former President Donald Trump without a vote is “hogwash” and “ridiculous.”
VERDICT: FALSE. Pelosi launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump without a vote on September 24, 2019. Over a month later, on October 31, 2019, the House approved a resolution to formalize the procedures of the impeachment inquiry into Trump.
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Democratic leaders will hold off on a full House vote authorizing an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump,” Politico reported on October 15, 2019.
NANCY PELOSI (October 15, 2019): "There's no requirement that we have a vote [to open an impeachment inquiry] and so at this time we will not be having a vote." pic.twitter.com/pTwGTSasUW
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 14, 2023
Pelosi, however, appeared on Thursday to ignore the timeline of events of almost four years ago.
“Speaker McCarthy made the argument the other day that, ‘Well, Nancy Pelosi set this precedent. She waited a long time to have a vote on the first impeachment of Donald Trump,'” MSNBC’s anchor said to preface his question.
“You did hold a vote, we should add. But he [McCarthy] said you made the rules and he’s just following them now by not holding this initial vote for an impeachment inquiry. What do you say to that?” he asked.
“I say that that’s hogwash. I mean, it’s ridiculous,” Pelosi falsely claimed. “And I don’t know why the press keeps repeating it.”
On Tuesday, McCarthy launched an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. The inquiry is intended to uncover additional information about Biden’s involvement in the family business.
The impeachment inquiry could lead to a full House vote on articles of impeachment. If approved by 218 votes in the House, the articles would be conveyed to the Senate, where the higher chamber would be obligated to hear the evidence during a Senate trial.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
