House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi said Thursday morning she would not rule out pursuing impeachment for President Donald Trump and added that she thought there is a chance a sitting president could be indicted.
WATCH:
“Many Democrats are talking about impeachment. You’ve said it would be sad and divisive for the country to pursue impeachment. Are you willing to rule it out?” TODAY’s Savannah Guthrie asked during an interview Thursday morning.
Pelosi responded, “Well we have to wait and see what happens with the Mueller report. We shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason. We just have to see how it comes.”
In a November profile of Pelosi done by The New York Times, Pelosi ridiculed members of her own party who supported abolishing ICE and impeaching Trump.
“Do you believe the special counsel should honor and observe the Department of Justice guidance that states a sitting president cannot be indicted?” Guthrie followed up. (RELATED: Pelosi: Dems Won’t Agree To Money For The Wall, But The Shutdown Isn’t Our Fault Either)
“I do not think that is conclusive, no I do not,” the likely upcoming Speaker of the House answered. Pelosi is set to take over as the Speaker of the House later on Thursday for the second time.
Former FBI Director Robert Mueller was appointed as special counsel in May 2017 to investigate whether or not the Trump campaign worked with Russia to help get him elected. As Guthrie pointed out, the DOJ’s Office of Legal Counsel does not believe a sitting president can be indicted.
U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 6, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas.
“So you think it’s possible that special counsel Mueller could legally indict a sitting president?” the show host pushed back. “As you well know, there is long-standing Department of Justice guidance that states a sitting president should not be but it is not the law.”
“It’s not the law. Everything indicates that a president can be indicted after he is no longer president of the United States,” Pelosi answered.
Guthrie continued, “A president who is in office, could Mueller say ‘I am seeking an indictment?'”
“I think that’s an open discussion in terms of the law,” Pelosi answered.