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OMAHA — "This is about our Constitution," Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told Nebraska Democrats.

"About our Constitution — and the facts."

The current House impeachment inquiry is "not about whether you like or disagree with" President Donald Trump, Pelosi told an overflow crowd of more than 1,000 Democrats who gathered in Omaha for the party's annual fundraising celebration on Saturday night.

"We take an oath to protect the USA from all enemies, foreign and domestic," Pelosi said.

And the time has come, she said, to recall Benjamin Franklin's words to a woman who inquired at the close of the constitutional convention of 1787 whether the framers had given Americans a republic or a monarchy.

"A republic, if you can keep it," Franklin responded.

"The President says he can do anything," Pelosi said. "The Constitution doesn't say that at all."

Pelosi said the lengthy delay in launching a formal impeachment inquiry was based on a judgment that "when we have the facts, we will be ready — and we are ready."

As Thomas Paine said during the American Revolution, Pelosi said, "The time has found us."