“Censure is a way out — if you’re going to go, you’ve got to go,” Ms. Pelosi said at a breakfast meeting with reporters. “If the goods are there, you must impeach.”

But Ms. Pelosi made it clear that she did not currently support opening an impeachment inquiry against the president, despite the small but growing number of Democrats in her ranks who have said it is time to take that step…

“Every day, we see more, so why would we stop with a less-strong case?” Ms. Pelosi said. “If you’re going to go down this path, you have to make sure that the public has an understanding of why, and that when the president — if the president is impeached, that the Senate understands that they either honor the oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and, if they don’t, the public will hold them accountable for not holding the president accountable.”