Pelosi reportedly left lawmakers 'stunned' by slamming House Judiciary Committee staff in meeting

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly put the House Judiciary Committee on blast in a recent meeting, and she was apparently totally fine with the criticism becoming public.

Pelosi, Politico reports, recently left lawmakers and aides "stunned" with a "swipe" at the House Judiciary Committee's Democratic staff, criticizing their handling of impeachment in a meeting by "complaining committee aides have advanced the push for ousting President Donald Trump far beyond where the House Democratic Caucus stands."

Although this criticism was made behind closed doors, Pelosi reportedly openly invited those in attendance to share it with the media, telling them, "And you can feel free to leak this."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

This news comes just after the House Judiciary Committee held its first official impeachment hearing, and as House Judiciary Chair Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) said he personally believes Trump should be impeached. But Pelosi has repeatedly urged caution both publicly and privately, and according to this report, she was doing so in a meeting with moderate Democrats while Tuesday's impeachment hearing was ongoing.

To sum up the ongoing conflict between the two, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told Politico, "Nadler is talking about law, Pelosi is talking about politics." Read more about Pelosi's criticism of the House Judiciary Committee at Politico.