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Pelosi pleads with Trump's family to 'stage intervention' and says she prays for him

The house speaker says 'the White House is just crying out for impeachment'

Chris Riotta
New York
Thursday 23 May 2019 19:58 BST
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Nancy Pelosi: Donald Trump is ‘almost self-impeaching’ by refusing subpoenas and protecting Mueller report

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Nancy Pelosi has lambasted Donald Trump a day after he stormed out of a bipartisan White House meeting on infrastructure, saying she prays for the president and calling for a family “intervention”.

The leader of the US House of Representatives addressed the conflict during a Thursday press conference in which she urged the White House administration to confront the president about his “temper tantrum” a day prior.

“I pray for the President of the United States,” she said, adding, “and the well-being of the United States of America.”

“I wish that his family or his administration or his staff would have an intervention for the good of the country,” she continued.

Her pleas arrived after Mr Trump upended a meeting with Democratic leaders in the White House on Wednesday over congressional investigations into his alleged obstruction of justice.

The president refused to sit or shake hands at the meeting, instead telling Ms Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer he would decline to work with them on any issues until all investigations against him were closed.

He then held a supposedly impromptu press appearance at the White House Rose Garden and attacked Democrats over increasing calls for impeachment following Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

“So sad that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer will never be able to see or understand the great promise of our Country,” he tweeted after the appearance, before adding a misleading claim about the cost of the special counsel’s probe. “They can continue the Witch Hunt which has already cost $40M and been a tremendous waste of time and energy for everyone in America, or get back to work.”

The controversy has reflected a new low in the relationship between congressional Democrats and Mr Trump as multiple committees investigate whether the president obstructed justice by allegedly seeking to end Mr Mueller’s probe during its two-year span.

The president has said “you can’t go down two tracks at the same time,” as Democratic leadership has pointed out that it is the duty of Congress to both legislate and provide oversight.

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Despite not yet joining a chorus of Democrats calling on the president to be removed from office, Ms Pelosi said on Thursday “the White House is just crying out for impeachment,” adding, “that’s why he flipped yesterday.”

"Impeachment is a very divisive place to go,” Ms Pelosi said.

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