The stern guidance came during a morning meeting on Capitol Hill after Robert Mueller's testimony, a source familiar with the matter told Fox News. Pelosi reportedly told lawmakers they are still allowed to talk about impeachment if it's politically important for their home districts, but urged them not to trash members who aren't in the same camp.
“She said, ‘Do what you have to do for your districts, but don’t disparage those who are not for it,’” the source said, recalling Pelosi’s remarks. “She said not to make it a thing about their patriotism or lack thereof if they are not for it.”
The source added that Pelosi warned them not to “make it a thing” that members in support of impeachment proceedings are “following the Constitution” because it “implies that those of us who don’t support it are not following the Constitution.”
The House Speaker has been trying to put a stop to the growing rift in the caucus between far-left and more moderate elements of the party. She is set to meet with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Friday in an attempt to unite the party. But the impeachment question might divide the caucus further after Mueller's testimony left the future of that path as unclear as ever. Pelosi, for her part, has resisted impeachment pressure from the start.
Earlier Pelosi said that top Democratic Party lawmakers want to first put together the strongest case possible before pursuing impeachment proceedings against US President Donald Trump. When asked about the difficulty in convicting the president in the Senate - where a two-thirds vote is required to remove an impeached president from office - Pelosi replied that failure to convict would make the Senate look bad.
