US House speaker rules out impeaching Trump

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi threw cold water Monday on efforts to impeach President Donald Trump, saying he is "just not worth it."

"Impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there’s something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, I don’t think we should go down that path, because it divides the country," Pelsoi said during an interview with the Washington Post newspaper.

The comments come less than a week after Rep. Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress, said she would enter impeachment articles against the president by the end of the month.

Any effort to start the impeachment process would need Pelosi's approval to advance in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives where the articles must constitutionally originate.

They would be tried in the Senate, currently controlled by the Republican Party, if they clear the House.

Democrats have been divided over whether or not to begin the impeachment process, with some like Pelosi urging the matter not be taken up without clear bipartisan support.

The House Judiciary Committee began a sweeping investigation last Monday into Trump, his close associates and his top officials over allegations of abuse of power, corruption and obstruction of justice.

The probe could serve as a foundation for possible impeachment proceedings against the president should the House's Democratic leadership decide to follow through on the matter.

So far, committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler has requested information from 81 entities and individuals, including Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, his sons Eric and Donald, his short-lived National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and the Chief Financial Officer of his business, Allen Weisselberg.