Trump has "every opportunity to present his case" on impeachment, Pelosi says
Washington — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi refuted Republicans' claims that President Trump has not had the opportunity for due process in the impeachment inquiry, saying that the president has "every opportunity to present his case."
"The president could come right before the committee and talk, speak all the truth that he wants if he wants," Pelosi said in an exclusive interview with "Face the Nation" moderator Margaret Brennan that aired Sunday. "He has every opportunity to present his case."
Pelosi also said that she believed the president's actions were worse than those of former President Richard Nixon.
"But it's really a sad thing. I mean, what the president did was so much worse than even what Richard Nixon did, that at some point Richard Nixon cared about the country enough to recognize that this could not continue," Pelosi said. Mr. Nixon resigned before the House could vote on impeachment.
Mr. Trump responded to Pelosi's suggestion on "Face the Nation" over Twitter Monday, saying: "I like the idea & will, in order to get Congress focused again, strongly consider it!"
The House Intelligence Committee has begun holding the first open hearings of the impeachment inquiry. Joint committees have also conducted several closed hearings regarding a July 25 call between Mr. Trump and the Ukrainian president where Mr. Trump asked for Ukraine to open an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden, a political rival. The call was the subject of a whistleblower complaint.
Mr. Trump and Republicans have argued that the president should be allowed to confront the whistleblower who wrote the complaint about the call.
"I will make sure he does not intimidate the whistleblower," Pelosi countered.
She also left the door open to calling more witnesses to open hearings in the future, saying that she wasn't sure how much longer there would be open hearings.
"I don't know how much longer. I guess it depends on how many more witnesses they have. That's up to the committee. I don't guide that. That's up to the committee," Pelosi said.
