Pelosi’s balancing act: Protecting Mueller amid impeachment fervor

For now, Pelosi seems to be pulling off the balancing act. Progressive Democrats who voted to begin an impeachment debate last year are now calling for patience. House staffers met with the special counsel’s office earlier this month to sort out which witnesses they could begin calling in 2019 without causing any problems. Democratic leaders are planning oversight hearings starting in January to highlight any White House attempts to interfere with Mueller’s work.

“It becomes harder and harder to make the case that this president hasn’t committed impeachable offenses. However, that information still has to get out to the American people,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington state, a member of the Judiciary Committee and one of the roughly 60 Democrats who voted to begin impeachment debates last year.

“You really stand to lose something if you try to move impeachment before you have everything on the table,” added Jayapal, also a leader of the Democrats’ progressive wing, in an interview. “We don’t have everything on the table yet.”