Pelosi to discuss ‘status of impeachment inquiry’

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) will discuss the “status of [the] impeachment inquiry” into President Trump at 9 a.m., her office announced early Thursday morning.

Pelosi will deliver a statement from the Speaker’s balcony hallway, where in September she announced the launch of the impeachment inquiry into Trump’s dealings with Kyiv after a whistleblower complained that Trump had asked the Ukrainian president to investigate potential 2020 opponent Joe Biden and his son. The president’s ask came days after congressionally approved military aid was withheld from the country.

Her remarks will follow the House Judiciary Committee’s first impeachment hearing on Wednesday.

Three constitutional scholars called by Democrats told lawmakers that Trump committed impeachable offenses. A fourth Republican witness disagreed.

The House Intelligence Committee earlier conducted the initial impeachment hearings with former and current Trump officials. The committee published a 300-page report on its findings Tuesday.

Democrats are now debating how broadly to make their impeachment case against Trump, with some party members pushing to expand the scope of their impeachment articles beyond Trump’s efforts to pressure the Ukrainian government to investigate his political opponents.

There are signs, however, that Democratic leaders will limit their extent and try to wrap up the process before Christmas.

On Wednesday, Pelosi asked House Democrats during a closed-door meeting if they were ready for the impeachment process. She said during the meeting that she had no determined timeline or decision on bringing Trump’s impeachment to the House floor for a vote.

The Speaker also plans to hold her weekly news conference later Thursday morning and is scheduled appear during a CNN town hall Thursday evening.

— Justine Coleman, Christina Marcos and Scott Wong contributed to this report, which was last updated at 7:20 a.m.