Third-Ranking Senate Dem Joins Calls For Trump Impeachment

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The calls for an impeachment inquiry to begin is growing by the day since Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony in front of the House Judiciary and House Intelligence Committees. In fact, a high-ranking senator added her name to the list on Saturday, making the number of congresspeople who’ve joined the call difficult for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to continue to ignore.

Senate Assistant Democratic Leader Patty Murray, who holds the third-highest position in the Senate, has joined the list of congresspeople calling for an impeachment inquiry. The state that Murray represents is Washington, and currently all of Washington’s House members are also among those who joined in the call. The specific reasons that justify the impeachment hearings are all related to the Mueller investigation into the Trump 2016 presidential campaign’s collusion with Russian government operatives and his attempts to obstruct justice throughout the investigation.

The Seattle Times reports that:

‘All seven of Washington’s Democrat U.S. House members are now calling for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. U.S. Senator Patty Murray also voiced support for an inquiry.

‘On Sunday, Reps. Kim Schrier, of Sammamish; Suzan DelBene, of Medina; Derek Kilmer, of Gig Harbor; and Denny Heck, of Olympia, cited corruption, obstruction of justice and failure to protect elections from foreign interference as justifications for an impeachment inquiry, which would be a first step in a lengthy process.’

Most specifically, Murray is concerned over Mueller’s testimony that Russian election interference is ongoing and continues today. Trump has refused to address the issue despite reports that Russia was able to hack into the voting systems of all 50 states in 2016, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has blocked efforts to protect the integrity of our democratic process.

‘Murray, in a statement, said that as Congress has learned more “about the gravity of the potential threats to our democracy identified in Special Counsel [Robert] Mueller’s report, it has become clear the House should begin proceedings to determine whether the President’s actions necessitate impeachment.”’

Despite these growing calls for an impeachment inquiry, Rep. Pelosi has continued to resist bringing the matter to the House floor while investigations into Trump’s corruption, emoluments clause violations, inauguration committee, and businesses are ongoing. Pelosi defended that resistance by saying that, since Congress only has one shot at impeaching Trump, more evidence from those investigations is needed to have the best chance at success.

‘House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday that the House would decide whether to begin impeachment proceedings “when we have a best strongest possible case” and that such a decision “will be made in a timely fashion.” She continued to resist calls from a growing number of House Democrats — 103 out of 235 in the caucus, plus one independent, according to a New York Times count — to begin an impeachment inquiry immediately. A motion to impeach Trump in mid-July was defeated.’

Featured image via Flickr by Gage Skidmore under a Creative Commons license