US politics
Speaker Pelosi taking charge

Nancy Pelosi comes straight at Trump on Russia connections

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Nancy Pelosi comes straight at Trump on Russia connections


5a349c60b42c75.086796361513397344738.png ...US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi holds her weekly press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on January 24, 2019. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images)

With Friday’s victory in the battle over government shutdown, it might seem like a moment in which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi might sit back, relax, and enjoy a moment of satisfaction before diving into the weeks of negotiation ahead. But that … is not how she followed up Trump’s fold.

In a thread starting a few hours following Trump’s Rose Garden appearance, Pelosi charged straight at Trump’s connections to Russia and his attempts to blow off the increasing evidence uncovered by the special counsel investigation. Pelosi has directly tied Trump’s actions—including his attempts to pull the United States out of NATO—to possible influence on the White House by Russian leader Vladimir Putin. The speaker started with a statement that Roger Stone’s indictment “makes clear there was a deliberate, coordinated effort by top Trump officials to subvert the will of the American people during the 2016 election” and went on from there.

Pelosi followed up her her Twitter thread with an official statement that compiled her statements and made clear that Democrats in the House are not about to give Trump the free pass he received from Paul Ryan.

“Lying to Congress and witness tampering constitute grave crimes. All who commit these illegal acts should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We cannot allow any effort to intimidate witnesses or prevent them from appearing before Congress.”

The thread has generated not just a massive response, but a genuine question — Does Pelosi know something that has not yet become public? The arrest of Stone, following the months Paul Manafort has spent wearing orange, shows that the special counsel is not afraid to go after strategists who have been at the core of the Republican Party for decades. And the revelations from those indictments show that Trump had the motive (the “Moscow Project”) and the means (Stone, Manafort, Cambridge Analytica, and many others) to conduct a conspiracy with Russia aimed at subverting an American election.

Pelosi’s willingness to go straight at Trump on this issue may indicate that she has even more evidence. It certainly indicates that she has more guts. And it absolutely informs Trump that the days of being able to count on the House to provide comforting statements about his Russia connections are absolutely over.
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OMG. Pelosi is opening a new front against Trump and charging hard!


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https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/1/25/1829642/-OMG-Pelosi-is-opening-a-new-front-against-Trump-and-charging-hard

pdxcharlie

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff) Friday January 25, 2019 · 10:20 PM EST
Just mere hours after overseeing the successful passage of the CR, Pelosi is opening up a brand new can of whoopass:
@SpeakerPelosi What does Putin have on @realDonaldTrump, politically, personally or financially? 6:42 PM - 25 Jan 2019

She is not giving him even a single evening of respite. She is like an eagle spotting a snake from 4000 ft up and dive-bombing in for the kill. I know I’m not the only person showering in the schadenfreude that is the spectacle of an decrepit misogynist having his ass absolutely handed to him by a woman. THIS is why the decision to elect Pelosi was a no-brainer. Folks, may I introduce to you the most consequential and effective Speaker of the House of the modern era!