Tulsi Gabbard criticizes Nancy Pelosi for suggesting delay in sending articles to Senate: You can't 'make up the rules as you go along'
WASHINGTON — In another break from the Democratic Party, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard criticized House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for suggesting that the House might hold off on transmitting articles of impeachment until the Republican-led Senate lays out parameters for a trial.
The 2020 presidential hopeful, who was the lone member of Congress to vote "present" on the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, said that she was "surprised" to hear Pelosi's remarks.
"I think that you can't kind of just shift and change and make up the rules as you go along," Gabbard told Hill.TV in an interview Thursday. "If you're going to pursue this process, you've got to let it play out the whole way through."
After the House impeached Trump Wednesday evening, Pelosi was unclear about when she would send the abuse of power and obstruction of Congress impeachment articles to the Senate, which would conduct a trial to decide on whether to remove the president from office.
Gabbard on impeachment: 'I could not in good conscience vote either yes or no'
Pelosi appeared to hint that articles could be held to ensure Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., establishes fair procedures for a trial.
"I’m not prepared to put the managers in that bill because we don’t know the arena we are in," Pelosi said at a news conference. “Frankly, I don’t care what the Republicans say.”
McConnell has rejected Senate Democrats' proposal for Trump aides to be called as witnesses and said he was working in close coordination with the White House for the trial procedure.
Trump said that Pelosi was "afraid" to pass on the articles. He was impeached on charges of improperly pressuring Ukraine's president to open investigations that would benefit his 2020 election, and blocking the House's impeachment investigation.
Pelosi feels her phony impeachment HOAX is so pathetic she is afraid to present it to the Senate, which can set a date and put this whole SCAM into default if they refuse to show up! The Do Nothings are so bad for our Country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2019
Gabbard on Thursday reiterated her disdain for the "hyperpartisan nature" of the impeachment process, a sentiment she has previously expressed. She tweeted that her vote on the articles was not a "passive" stance, as some Democrats have suggested, but rather an "active protest against the zero-sum game the two opposing political sides have trapped America in."
"We're stuck right now in this terrible scenario where everyone is trying to exact maximum hurt from their opponent for a 'win,'" she said in a video posted to Twitter.
My ‘present’ vote was an active protest against the zero-sum game the two opposing political sides have trapped America in. My vote and campaign is about freeing our country from this damaging mindset so we can work side-by-side to usher in a bright future for all #StandWithTulsi pic.twitter.com/nmhEL5bi4Q
— Tulsi Gabbard (@TulsiGabbard) December 19, 2019
Speaking to Hill.TV, Gabbard also suggested that Democrats stood in the way of an "impartial" impeachment inquiry.
"On the Democratic side, you see such extreme language being used, basically accusing the president of treason without actually saying the word, and tainting, therefore, any possibility of a truly impartial fact-finding inquiry," she said.
But "this is not just on the part of the Democrats," Gabbard said. She slammed Republicans, too, for sticking by the narrative that Trump did nothing wrong.
"You see a blind loyalty to their party's leader. ... They're not exercising their responsibility to the American people in providing legitimate oversight," Gabbard said.
Gabbard defended her "present vote," on Wednesday by saying that after reviewing the impeachment report, she could "not in good conscience" vote one way or the other. The first article, abuse of power, passed with a 230-197 vote, and the obstruction of Congress article passed with 229-198.
Historic vote: House impeaches Donald Trump, reshuffling U.S. politics on eve of 2020
Instead, Gabbard introduced a resolution on Wednesday to censure Trump, which would express strong disapproval of conduct.
Gabbard did not qualify for the Democratic debate Thursday night but indicated beforehand that she would not appear even if she had qualified. Gabbard has in the past been critical of the Democratic National Committee's debate qualification criteria.
Contributing: Christal Hayes and Courtney Subramanian, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Impeachment: Gabbard criticizes Pelosi for suggesting holding articles
