Nancy Pelosi said she doesn’t want to impeach Trump because that would be giving him what he wants

ABC

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" Thursday night, which is filmed in her state of California.
Her and host Jimmy Kimmel discussed former special counsel Robert Mueller’s recent public statement and the calls from many in her party to begin an impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump.
She said the Republican-controlled Senate is "completely in the pocket of Donald Trump," and will continue to side with him, even if they know he committed a crime.
Throughout the segment, Pelosi emphasized the need to be "ready" before pursuing impeachment, and said she believes the president wants Democrats to impeach him.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear that she’s fed up with discussing President Donald Trump during an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night talk show.

"Myself, I’m done with him in terms of talking about him," Pelosi said Thursday, just one day after former special counsel Robert Mueller delivered his first public, televised statement regarding his two-year investigation into Russian election interference.

Mueller said if his team "had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," adding that he was legally unable to charge the president with a crime because it’s against Department of Justice policy.

Associated Press

Mueller said during his statement that only Congress could "formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing," spurring Democratic lawmakers to intensify their calls for Pelosi to begin an impeachment investigation into Trump.

Several 2020 candidates and prominent Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have vocalized their support for impeachment.

Pelosi thinks Trump wants Democrats to impeach him

But Pelosi continues to stand firm and resist impeachment efforts.

She told Kimmel that she believes Trump wants Democrats to impeach him.

"He knows it’s not a good idea to be impeached, but the silver lining for him is then he believes he would be exonerated by the United States Senate and there’s a school of thought that says if the Senate acquits you, why bring charges against him in the private sector when he’s no longer president?" Pelosi said. "When we go through with our case, it’s got to be ironclad."

She said the Republican-controlled Senate is "completely in the pocket of Donald Trump," and will continue to side with him, even if they know he committed a crime.

The Trump v. Pelosi feud escalates

While Pelosi and Trump have clashed throughout his presidency, their feud has reached new heights as of late.

Last Wednesday, Pelosi said the president is "engaged in a cover-up," prompting Trump to call a last-minute press conference — after walking out of a meeting with Democrats over infrastructure policy — to lambaste Democratic leadership and hit back on Pelosi’s remarks. Pelosi appeared to be referencing White House efforts to stonewall House investigations into the president and not comply with subpoenas.

The following day, the president tweeted a misleading Fox Business video compilation of Pelosi appearing to stammer during a press conference. Doctored videos of Pelosi, to make it appear as if she slurs her words, have spread quickly across social media, according to The Washington Post.

Following Mueller’s statement, Trump said on Thursday he "can’t imagine the courts allowing" Congress to impeach him, even though that process doesn’t involve the judicial branch.

"To me it’s a dirty word, the word ‘impeach.’ It’s a dirty, filthy, disgusting word," he said.

Sarah Silbiger for The Washington Post via Getty Image

"How are things going in Washington? Anything interesting happening?" Kimmel said with a grin to start off Thursday’s show. "I’m really happy to be here," Pelosi responded.

She told the comedian that "we have to be ready" before pursuing impeachment, emphasizing how it could divide the country.

"Will we be ready before the year 2020?" Kimmel asked.

"Yeah, we will," Pelosi said with a laugh. She said instead of focusing on Trump, "what we want to talk about is, let’s build the infrastructure of America and not have him stomp out of the room."

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