Tlaib wants Democrats pushing impeachment to ‘turn words into action’

By Emily Kopp

Posted May 30, 2019 at 2:03pm

Rep. Rashida Tlaib is calling on Democrats to “turn words into action” by signing onto her resolution directing the House committee in charge of impeachment to consider formally trying the president for wrongdoing.

At least 34 Democrats in the House have voiced support for impeachment. But just nine of those have cosponsored Tlaib’s resolution directing the House Judiciary Committee to inquire whether or not the Democratic-controlled chamber should impeach President Donald Trump.

The Michigan congresswoman has for months called for Trump’s impeachment, not just because of possible wrongdoing during the 2016 campaign, but also for obstruction of justice, hush money payments made by former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, and the president’s use of the imprimatur of the White House to generate revenue for the Trump Organization.

Tlaib began circulating the resolution among colleagues in March. But with Speaker Nancy Pelosi taking a more cautious approach to initiating impeachment proceedings, the resolution has been slow to attract backers.

Everyone on this list that hasn’t already signed onto my resolution calling for an #ImpeachmentInquiryNow should. The time to turn words into action is now. https://t.co/dhVDrLmWvR
— Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (@RepRashida) May 30, 2019

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Momentum towards impeachment picked up since a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report on his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election was released in April and the public learned more about the president’s efforts to curtail the investigation into his campaign.

And the pro-impeachment caucus has grown by at least 10 lawmakers since Mueller read a statement on Wednesday that summarized what his investigation did and didn’t find.

Mueller said that while Justice Department rules prevented it, “the Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing.”

Democrats in favor of initiating impeachment proceedings who have signed onto House Resolution 257