Gregg Jarrett says Mitch McConnell shouldn't subject himself to Nancy Pelosi's extortion
The Framers never envisioned that the speaker of the House would withhold the articles of impeachment from the Senate, says Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett.
Fox News legal analyst Gregg Jarrett blasted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday for not sending the articles of impeachment to the Senate for trial and saying that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., should proceed with an impeachment trial without the Democratic leader's involvement.
"The framers never envisioned a stunt pulled by a speaker of the House like Nancy Pelosi holding onto articles of impeachment. Two decades ago it was sent over immediately, within minutes. There was a vote to convey and transmit it," Jarrett said on "Hannity." "The Constitution is actually silent about that. It doesn't say that the Senate has to wait until it's transmitted. It's simply a Senate rule."
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Jarrett advised McConnell to "alter the rule" and proceed with an impeachment trial.
"Mitch McConnell shouldn't be subjecting himself to the extortion of Nancy Pelosi," Jarrett said to guest host Tammy Bruce. "He can, beginning in January, simply alter the rule or eliminate it entirely and set a date for an impeachment trial."
President Trump tore into House Democrats this week over their handling of the impeachment process, calling them "hypocrites" and "liars" for allegedly seeking concessions in the Senate that Republicans were not afforded in the House -- and for hitting pause on impeachment after previously portraying it as an urgent matter.
Jarrett said McConnell could just ignore impeachment but that Pelosi could use the articles to hurt Trump.
"Mitch McConnell can say, 'Well, if you're not going to send them over, I don't care. We're not we're not going to deal with it,'" Jarrett said. "Nancy Pelosi, though, could then use it as a cudgel to hit Trump over the head at every turn -- add things to it."
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"Simply change the rule, hold a trial, do it. Do it on your own terms," Jarrett advised McConnell.
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