Pelosi plans to send impeachment articles to Senate next week
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told her caucus on Friday that she plans to send the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate next week, teeing up the start of the trial.
"I have asked Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler to be prepared to bring to the Floor next week a resolution to appoint managers and transmit articles of impeachment to the Senate. I will be consulting with you at our Tuesday House Democratic Caucus meeting on how we proceed further," Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats.
The naming of House impeachment managers -- those members who will president the House's case at trial -- is required for the articles to formally be transmitted. If the House votes on the resolution on Tuesday, a trial could start as early as Wednesday.
Moments before sending the letter, Pelosi denied she was under pressure from Democrats to send the articles.
Pelosi had previously said she would be prepared to send the articles once she knew details of the format of the trial in the Senate. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to provide the specifics Pelosi demanded, other than to say he would generally follow the model used during the 1999 trial of President Bill Clinton.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had demanded that there be an agreement that witnesses would be called and additional documentary evidence sought -- before a trial starts.
ABC News' Mariam Khan and another reporter caught up with McConnell as he left his office on Capitol Hill Friday.
On the news that Pelosi planned to send the articles of impeachment to the Senate next week, he responded: “About time.”
On Friday, Pelosi told ABC's John Parkinson that "no," she does not expect a fair trial in the Senate.
Asked what sort of feedback she’s getting from Democrats after withholding the articles for the past several weeks, Pelosi answered, “absolutely total cooperation.”
“It cracks me up to see on TV, ‘Oh, the pressure. Where’s the pressure?” Pelosi scoffed. “I have news for them. You don’t have a story.”
On Friday afternoon, Schumer said in a statement: “Senate Democrats are ready for the trial to begin and will do everything we can to see that the truth comes out.”
ABC News' John Parkinson and Mariam Khan contributed to this report.
