This Wednesday, soon to be former Special Counsel Robert Mueller held an abruptly announced press conference at which he took no questions but did explain a few key takeaways from his lengthy probe into the Russia scandal. After he clearly reiterated that his team did not conclude that President Donald Trump did not commit a crime, Republican Congressman Justin Amash (Mich.) responded bluntly after having previously called for impeaching Trump, sharing:
‘The ball is in our court, Congress.’
The ball is in our court, Congress. https://t.co/idpQo1xItH
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 29, 2019
Amash is so far the only Republican to have openly called for impeaching Trump, but at a town hall meeting he held this week he claimed that other Republican members of Congress feel the same when confronted with the evidence that Mueller and his team accumulated, they’re just too afraid to speak out thanks to the possible political repercussions. It’s worth noting though that at that town hall event — the first public event he’s held since calling for impeaching Trump — he earned a standing ovation from those in attendance.
Pretty rare moment in politics. @justinamash says some of his colleagues agree with him about President Trump and the Mueller report but won’t speak out publicly. pic.twitter.com/3APeeiI3US
— Daniel Lewis (@Daniel_Lewis3) May 28, 2019
He’s faced harsh criticism from Republican leaders including unsurprisingly Trump himself but also House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), who Amash isn’t too interested in caving to. At his town hall, he said he figures that McCarthy didn’t even read the final report from Mueller’s investigation.
That report outlines almost a dozen instances of obstruction of justice that Mueller’s team examined, and in most, they concluded that the relevant criminal intent was there. However, as the special counsel made abundantly clear at his press conference this week, standing Justice Department policy kept them from filing any charges against Donald Trump while he’s in office no matter what they found. Leaving few options open for an explanation of the true nature of the situation, he asserted:
‘If we had confidence that the president did not commit a crime, we would have said so.’
In stark contrast to the president and his allies, Mueller also defended the legitimacy of prosecuting obstruction in the first place, asserting that the investigation was of high importance no matter what charges did or did not stem from it. Examining this issue and more specifically the findings from Mueller’s probe that have been made available led to the first call from a Democratic presidential candidate for impeachment when Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) asserted Congress needs to act last month.
Pressure has grown, but House leaders including Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have pointed out that impeachment would stall in the Republican-controlled Senate as supposed justification for not moving forward.
Check out Twitter’s response to Amash again pressuring his colleagues to act below.
Featured Image via screenshot
