Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Democrats to meet in the next few weeks to discuss impeachment of Trump, key lawmaker says

US president says assertions he obstructed justice are 'total bulls**t'

Felicia Sonmez,Michelle Lee
Sunday 21 April 2019 18:28 BST
Comments
(Reuters)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

House Democrats will hold a meeting to discuss whether to pursue impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, a key lawmaker said on Sunday.

House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff said on Fox News Sunday that the House Democratic caucus will meet in the coming weeks to discuss the matter.

“That’s going to be a very consequential decision and one that I’m going to reserve judgment on until we’ve had a chance to fully deliberate on it,” Mr Schiff said.

In an appearance on ABC News’ “This Week,” Mr Schiff also said that while the findings of the Mueller report are “serious and damning,” he does not believe the Senate would convict Mr Trump if the House were to impeach him.

“Now, it may be that we undertake an impeachment nonetheless. I think what we are going to have to decide as a caucus is: What is the best thing for the country?” he said.

Democrats have been divided over impeachment since the Thursday release of special counsel Robert Mueller III’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.

On Friday, two 2020 Democratic presidential contenders – Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Julián Castro, who was housing and urban development secretary in the Obama administration – seized on the report’s findings to make the case for impeachment.

But others, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., have urged members of their party to hold off on any impeachment proceedings and instead continue their investigations of Mr Trump.

The Democratic split grew Sunday as another presidential candidate, Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, said it was too soon to formally open impeachment proceedings.

Ryan said that it was “pretty clear” that the president obstructed justice and that the Mueller report portrayed a “very, very, very serious” set of circumstances, but that House committees should continue with their oversight of Mr Trump.

Libya fighting intensified after Donald Trump spoke to warlord Khalifa Haftar

“Let the Judiciary Committee look at this,” Ryan said on CNN’s “State of the Union,” stressing that Democrats need to “educate the American people” on the investigation. “Let’s see where that leads.”

Mr Trump has sought to discredit portions of the Mueller report, including in a Friday tweet in which he dismissed assertions that he may have obstructed justice as “total bullshit.”

On Sunday, Rudy Giuliani, Mr Trump’s personal attorney, defended the president’s tweet.

“There’s nothing wrong with taking information from Russians,” Mr Giuliani said on “State of the Union,” suggesting that campaigns regularly receive information from unusual sources.

Mr Giuliani said he did not think his own 2008 presidential campaign would have accepted information from Russian sources but maintained that it would not have been illegal to have done so.

“There’s no crime,” he told host Jake Tapper.

The Washington Post

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in