House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was mocked on Thursday when Time magazine reported that she got the idea to hold articles of impeachment against President Trump from the Senate by watching CNN.
“Pelosi, according to an aide, had been mulling the tactic since she heard former Nixon White House counsel John Dean float the idea on CNN on Dec. 5,” Time reporter Molly Ball wrote as part of a lengthy cover story.
Dean, an outspoken critic of President Trump, occasionally pops up on the liberal cable news network to opine about impeachment. He spoke with CNN’s Anderson Cooper last month and suggested Pelosi should sit on the articles.
“One of the thoughts I’ve had that the House should do, is to go forward with impeachment and not send it to the Senate. Just let it sit there in the House,” Dean said. “They can do that. Not until they send the managers over have they really triggered the Senate’s involvement, so there is the option that they could impeach and make a statement in that impeachment… and see what happens in the election.”
Former Nixon White House counsel John Dean reportedly inspired House Speaker Nancy Pelosi during a CNN appearance.
Cooper responded by saying it was an “interesting” idea that he hadn’t previously heard. Pelosi, D-Calif., reportedly liked what she heard and indicated Tuesday that she plans to hold onto articles of impeachment, at least until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., releases a resolution outlining the terms for a Senate trial.
Critics, reporters and Trump supporters lit up Twitter after Time published the story:
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Earlier this year, Dean testified before the House Judiciary Committee that he saw “remarkable parallels” between Watergate and the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s infamous report. He said several points in the Mueller report “echo Watergate,” especially relating to the obstruction of justice probe.
Dean testified before the committee in 1974 during the Nixon impeachment inquiry and eventually cooperated with prosecutors, pleading guilty to obstruction. He has acknowledged being “an active participant in the cover-up for a period of time” during Watergate.
Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Alex Pappas contributed to this report.
