Pelosi Says Democrats Are ‘Not on the Path to Impeachment’—Yet

(Bloomberg) -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi said House Democrats are "not on the path to impeachment" although President Donald Trump’s actions could be impeachable offenses.

"Whatever we do, we need to be ready when we do it," Pelosi told reporters Thursday at her weekly news conference. "It may take us to a place that is unavoidable in terms of impeachment."

“I do think impeachment is a very divisive place to go in our country,” Pelosi said. “We’re not at that place yet.”

Pelosi spoke a day after Trump walked out of a White House meeting with her and other Democratic congressional leaders that was supposed to focus on funding for a major public works plan. The president said he wouldn’t negotiate with Democrats as long as they continued investigations stemming from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report.

Pelosi argued that Trump wants Democrats to rush into impeachment and that is why he walked out of Wednesday’s meeting.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said later that Pelosi was being "irresponsible" for claiming that Trump was engaged in a "cover-up" and suggesting the president wants Democrats to impeach him.

"She knows the president does not want that," said the California Republican.

Pelosi said three principles are guiding her approach to potentially opening an impeachment inquiry. First, she said, the American people need to know the facts about Trump’s actions. Second, the president is not above the law, she said. Third, Trump is “engaged in a cover-up,” she said, repeating her claim that angered the president on Wednesday.

The speaker characterized Trump’s walkout as a "temper tantrum" and said, "I wish that his family or his administration or staff would have an intervention for the good of the country." She also suggested, "Maybe he wants to take a leave of absence."

To contact the reporter on this story: Erik Wasson in Washington at ewasson@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Joe Sobczyk at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net, Laurie Asséo

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