'Pelosi has driven a wedge between McConnell and Trump': ex-White House official

Appearing on CNN's "New Day" on Friday morning, former White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is doing a masterful job by delaying the impeachment trial of Donald Trump and that it is creating friction between the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

Speaking with hosts John Berman and Alisyn Camerota, the former official under Bill Clinton said Pelosi's decision to slow down the impeachment process has the White House and the GOP leadership at odds with each other.

"This is an impasse," host Camerota began. "John has described it as a game of poker between these two stellar poker players, Mitch McConnell and Nancy Pelosi, but there's a joker in the deck who might mess things up. Can we stay in this limbo indefinitely?"

"I don't think it's indefinite," Lockhart conceded. "I think by the middle of January, we'll have this sorted out. But it is three-dimensional political warfare."

"I think it's Pelosi is effectively driving a wedge between Mitch McConnell and the president," he added. "Mitch McConnell's equity here is his senators, protecting those six vulnerable senators: Martha McSally, Susan Collins, Cory Gardner. The president's equities are he wants to do a vindication tour. He wants to go around like he did after the election 2016 and say, 'see, I was right. I'm exonerated.' And Pelosi has figured out a way to drive that wedge."

"Just as importantly, she's keeping the issue of these live witnesses alive as long as she can. That is a very popular idea," he added.

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