U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, followed through on promises Wednesday to introduce a resolution asking Congress to investigate whether President Donald Trump has committed any impeachable offenses.
Trump, who has maintained he has done nothing wrong and has been the victim of a Democratic-led “witch hunt,” is set to appear at a re-election rally in Grand Rapids on Thursday night. He has rejected any notion that he could be impeached.
The resolution now goes to the House Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., will decide whether it should be considered and voted on. If approved in committee, the resolution — which only calls for an investigation into potential “high crimes and misdemeanors” which could lead to impeachment — would then go to the full House for consideration.
The resolution faces many hurdles, however, and is unlikely at this point to move forward.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has already said that she is only in favor of initiating impeachment proceedings if enough evidence comes before Congress to sway Republican, as well as Democratic, sentiment, believing it will take too much time and be too divisive, potentially hurting some Democrats heading into next year’s elections.
Denzel McCampbell, Tlaib’s spokesman, confirmed for the Free Press on Wednesday night that Nadler has offered no guarantees that there will be a hearing on the measure. Late last week, Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded a 22-month investigation that determined that Trump had not colluded with Russians during the 2016 election, greatly reducing the likelihood of any impeachment proceedings.
But Tlaib, who was elected in November, has been calling for impeachment proceedings since before she even took office in January. arguing that the president and his company have violated the law by continuing to profit from foreign officials spending money at his real estate properties to curry Trump’s favors.
She has also raised questions, dismissed by Trump’s attorney general, as to whether he may have obstructed the Mueller investigation. As to the money coming into Trump properties, the Trump administration has said any amounts from foreign governments is reimbursed to the U.S. Treasury.
“We have a duty in this chamber to inquire about these acts, to investigate them, find out if there was any wrongdoing and seek accountability if any has been found,” Tlaib said. “If, at the end, it gets the president to comply (with the law), then we did our job. If the president doesn’t, we move forward and at the very least put any future presidents on notice that Congress will hold you accountable and will require you to divest.”
Tlaib also wants to know whether payments made to adult film actor Stormy Daniels by Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, violated campaign finance laws.
The Free Press reported Tuesday that Tlaib was looking for co-sponsors to join her resolution. On Wednesday night, she said that U.S. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, signed on as a cosponsor.
“I stand with my colleague in her push for the House Judiciary Committee to consider impeachable offenses committed by President Donald Trump,” Green said in a statement. “It’s what the framers of the Constitution intended when they penned the language placing the responsibility to impeach solely within the House of Representatives.”
Contact Todd Spangler: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @tsspangler. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.
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