Hey, everyone. I'm David Chalien, the CNN political director. This is the Daily D.C. impeachment watch.

Every weeknight, we've got you covered with up to the minute reporting and analysis into this consequential moment in American history.

In a few minutes, I'll be talking with CNN legal analyst Michael Zeldin. But first, I'm joined by my colleague, CNN reporter and producer Marshall Cohen. Marshall, welcome back to the podcast.

Hey, Chalian. Thanks for having me. So, as you know, Nancy Pelosi came back into town and yet she's still holding on to the articles of impeachment. And she says, this is reporting out of what she told her members last night,

that she's going to hang on to them until she has a clear understanding of what the ground rules of a trial in the Senate is going to look like and that it had better be fair.

Over to you, Mitch McConnell.

Well, he took none too kindly to Speaker Pelosi's position, as you might expect.

He took to the Senate floor today, and here's what he had to say.

Supposedly, the explanation for this shameless game playing is that Speaker Pelosi wanted leverage, leverage, to reach into the Senate and dictate

our trial proceedings to us. Now, I've made clear from the beginning that no such leverage

exists. It's non-existent. And yesterday, we made it clear it will never exist.

Of course, what he's referring to there by saying yesterday he made it clear is that he

announced he has the votes to proceed to trial rules as he sees fit. He has his caucus,

his conference, in line, and he has the votes. And I am somewhat sympathetic to Mitch McConnell's

rhetoric here. I know they are both Pelosi and McConnell masters of their domain. But the House

part is over. And the Senate is in charge of the trial phase of impeachment.

What is, I mean, I wouldn't necessarily call it a shameless game the way McConnell did,

but what do you see is Pelosi's game here?

Well, it's trying to maybe make something out of nothing.

You know, you have that last card to play, transmittal of the articles, and that's it.

You know, that's all she can do, short of having her Democrats in the House pass a maybe

a third article of impeachment. You know, that, that, of course, is a possibility that they've

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