Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) on Thursday called for Speaker Nancy Pelosi to halt the House’s impeachment inquiry into President Trump “until transparent and equitable rules and procedures are established to govern the inquiry, as is customary.”
McCarthy’s request came after Pelosi said during her weekly Wednesday press conference that “we will treat the president with fairness” and that the impeachment inquiry would be “worthy of the Constitution of the United States.”
“Unfortunately, you have given no clear indication as to how your impeachment inquiry will proceed—including whether key historical precedents or basic standards of due process will be observed,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to Pelosi, accusing the speaker of “swiftness and recklessness” in her handling of the probe.
The letter ends by posing a number of questions to Pelosi about her intent to follow precedent and House rules in conducting the investigation, including whether she will hold a House vote, whether she will allow President Trump’s counsel the ability to present evidence, and whether she will let Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler (D., NY) oversee the inquiry.
“By answering ‘no’ to any of the above, you would be acting in direct contradiction to all modern impeachment inquiries of a sitting president,” McCarthy writes.