CNN analyst warns Pelosi: Withholding impeachment articles isn't 'sustainable' – Washington Examiner, Washingtonexaminer.com

          

CNN analyst David Gergen warned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that she’s holding a “double-edged sword” by withholding the House-passed articles of impeachment from the Senate.

          

Joining Sunday night’sCNN Newsroom, Gergen – who was an adviser to former Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton – was asked to respond to Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staffMarc Short’s assessmentthat Pelosi “will yield” eventually and send the articles to the upper chamber.

          

Gergen said Short “has a point” and explained that Pelosi has found herself in a predicament.

          

“Pelosi has been masterful in the past months dealing with the issues,” he said. “But now she has what we might call a double-edged sword. One edge of that sword: she’s arguing persuasively that the White House has shut down the possibility of getting documents and witnesses… And, therefore, the full facts haven come out, and Democrats are entitled to have the full facts if they’ll have a trial. That’s a legitimate argument. ”

          

He continued, “On the other hand, there’s the other side of the sword, Ana: the Democrats have been arguing all this time, ‘Hustle up, hustle up, we have to hurry.’ And now they have the impeachment done, they are saying, ‘Slow down, we’re not sure we’re going to send the articles.’ I think you can maintain that for a short period of time. I do not think it’s a sustainable position over a long period of time. “

          

Gergen added, “A double-edged sword cuts both ways.”

          

After the House voted to impeach President Trump on Wednesday,Pelosi indicatedthat she does not have a timeline in mind for sending the articles to the Senate, arguing that she wants to wait until Republican leaders agree to terms for a fair Senate trial. On Sunday, Short insisted that Pelosi’s position is “untenable” and that the White House is “confident” she will hand the articles over soon.