Nancy Pelosi declared herself “sad” as she used over a dozen commemorative pens to sign the articles of impeachment against President Trump on Wednesday, before handing them out like prizes to fellow Democrats.
According to the House Speaker, the occasion was “so sad, so tragic for our country.” Pelosi told reporters that the occasion marked a “difficult time in our country’s history.”
She then approached a table with the impeachment documents, and two dishes full of “impeachment pens” for her to use in the spectacle.
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Pelosi then sat, as cameras rolled, and signed the articles, one for “abuse of power” and another for “obstruction of Congress.” She applied each pen, paused every few seconds as cameras captured the show, switched pens, and then continued.
Breitbart.com reports: The two dishes were swapped out and replaced with two new ones after the first article of impeachment had been signed — presumably, different pens for different articles.
Despite pronouncing herself “sad,” Pelosi smiled throughout the signing.
She then handed out the pens to leaders of the Democratic Party caucus in the House, including House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), and others.
She also posed for smiling photographs with the pens.
It is unclear if the ceremony had any actual meaning, or whether it was merely a pantomime for the media. Eric Wasson of Bloomberg News reported that the Senate would not actually receive the articles until Thursday.
Update: The White House responded, mocking Pelosi for “souvenir pens served up on silver platters”:
Pelosi and her party insisted on rushing impeachment through the House — even declining to call key witnesses, or to pursue them through the courts — because they insisted that it was urgent the president be removed from office to prevent him from soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election.
They then refused to deliver the articles of impeachment to the Senate for four weeks as they attempted to exert pressure on Republicans to adopt their terms for a trial, without success.
