House Judiciary chairman privately urges Nancy Pelosi to let him move forward with impeachment: report

On Thursday, CNN reported that House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) has privately been urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to let him open an impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump.

"Publicly, Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary chairman, has been cautious, not going as far as calling for an impeachment inquiry, but privately, it's a different story," CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju told Wolf Blitzer. "Quietly, he has been lobbying for an impeachment probe, and made that case directly to Nancy Pelosi in multiple private meetings, including one earlier this week with a key chairman."

Raju reported that Nadler told Pelosi "that this would add weight to the legal argument in court and a fight with the Trump Administration over a range of issues over a subpoena, he believes it will help his case in court." He reportedly also added that a formal impeachment investigation would "centralize" all of the disparate Trump investigations under his committee, and obviate House rules that prevent members from accusing the president of having committed crimes.

"Nancy Pelosi is resisting opening impeachment probes," added Raju. "She says, reportedly, the president should go to prison instead of being impeached." He also reported that House Intelligence chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) is not yet on board, because it could potentially transfer the investigations he is conducting into Trump to Nadler's committee.

Raju said that Nadler "has been careful in advocating the view of the committee, but he doesn't want to throw Pelosi under the bus ... so Nadler is facing these dueling tensions."

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