A California leftist congressman you never heard of wants to change that.
Representative Brad Sherman (shown), who represents the Golden State’s 30th district, introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump today.
Now that Democrats control the House, impeachment is indeed a possibility, although conviction in the GOP-controlled Senate would be unlikely.
The question is whether the House leadership will agree to attempt what amounts to the removal of a president they simply don’t like and can’t control.
The Charges
Sherman’s charges of “high crimes and misdemeanors” include the usual legalese, but they boil down to one thing: Trump tried to impede the the FBI’s probe into “Russian collusion” on behalf of his campaign for president.
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The impeachment articles begin with the standard boilerplate about faithfully executing the laws, then claim he “prevented, obstructed and impeded the administration of justice during a federal investigation.”
Trump knew, Sherman charges, that “federal law enforcement authorities were investigating possible criminal law violations of his former National Security Advisor, General Michael Flynn,” and he also knew those officials were “conducting one or more investigation(s) into Russian State interference in the 2016 campaign for president of the United States, and that such investigations included the conduct of his campaign personnel and Associates acting on behalf of the campaign, to include the possible collusion by those individuals with the Russian government.”
Using that knowledge, Trump tried to “to hinder and cause the termination of such investigation(s) including through threatening, and then terminating, James Comey, who was until such termination the director of the Federal Bureau Investigation.”
In other words, Trump hindered the probe by allegedly asking Comey to stop it or be fired. Then he did fire Comey, Sherman charges, “only thereafter requesting that the Deputy Attorney General provide him with a memorandum detailing inadequacies in the Director’s performance of his duties.”
Although Trump offered a different reason for firing Comey, he “admitted subsequently that the main reason for the termination was that the Director would not close or alter the investigation of matters related to the involvement of Russia in the 2016 campaign.”
Once Comey was gone, Trump admitted that “the pressure of said investigation had been significantly reduced.”
Thus did Trump act “in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
Thus must Trump be impeached and removed — not because of evidence of collusion with Russia, but because allegedly impeded the investigation looking for evidence of collusion.
Will Pelosi Go Along?
“There is no reason it shouldn’t be before the Congress,” Sherman told the Los Angeles Times. “Every day, Donald Trump shows that leaving the White House would be good for our country.”
Democrats likely believe that, but they aren’t as enthusiastic as Sherman about hastening his exit.
Reported CNN, “incoming Oversight Chairman Elijah Cummings of Maryland and incoming Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff of California both said it was still ‘premature’ to discuss impeachment.”
“It’s premature to consider what remedy is appropriate,” leftist Schiff told CNN.”After [Special Counsel] Bob Mueller issues his report, we ought to see what evidence he produces, before we have any discussions of what the consequences should be.”
Incoming House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, who has said Trump committed “impeachable offenses” that defrauded the American people when they voted for him, told CNN nothing. “To each his own,” the New York leftist said.
For her part, newly-elected House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in the past has said trying to impeach the president is a non-starter, told NBC virtually nothing as well.
Pelosi said impeachment “‘would be’ divisive” and, cryptically, that “we shouldn’t be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn’t avoid impeachment for a political reason.”
Before the election, Pelosi didn’t want to discuss the matter because she thought it would hurt Democrats at the ballot box.
Other Efforts
This isn’t Sherman’s first attempt to impeach the president. He tried last year with the same bill.
Another impeachment bill from Representative Al Green, a lefist from Texas, failed 364-58.
That try was downright silly, and claimed that Trump had to be thrown from office because he was “associating the presidency with white nationalism, Neo-Nazism and hatred,” and “inciting hatred and hostility.”
Among his incitements of hostility was his restriction, backed by the U.S. Supreme Court, of travel to the United States from Muslim countries, and on three occasions, calling Representative Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) “wacky.”
Photo of Rep. Brad Sherman: AP Images
