Two House Democrats on Thursday joined activists at the USCapitol who presented Congress with signatures of 10 million people calling onlawmakers to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
“We are holding in our hands 10 million reasons forbeing here today,” progressive congressman Al Green said, as he andfirst-term congresswoman Rashida Tlaib held up a flash drive.
Dozens of cardboard boxes featuring the signatures, gatheredon petitions from groups such as MoveOn and the annual Women’s March, weredelivered to Tlaib, who has introduced legislation that would direct the HouseJudiciary Committee to begin proceedings to investigate whether Trump hascommitted impeachable offenses.
“In the face of this time, this remarkably dark time inour country, this to me is a moment of light,” she said.
Trump has proclaimed he was fully exonerated by specialcounsel Robert Mueller’s recently released report on Russian electioninterference.
But some Democrats argue that the document lays out multipleoccasions in which the president may have obstructed justice, including SenatorElizabeth Warren, a 2020 presidential candidate who has called for impeachmentproceedings.
Other senior Democrats including House Speaker Nancy Pelosihave cautioned against such a move, stressing it could deeply divide the nationof about 325 million people.
They warn it could backfire politically in the run up to the2020 election, especially with the Republican-controlled Senate likely toacquit the president in the event of impeachment by the House ofRepresentatives.
But Green framed the action as a constitutional necessity.
“I say moral imperative always trumps politicalexpediency,” he said.
“You can’t say you have a constitutional crisis andthen do nothing.”
The remark appeared to be a direct challenge to Pelosiherself, who said Thursday that Trump’s refusal to comply with congressionalinquiries into his actions has brought the country to the brink.
“Trump and his administration’s decision to ignore theoath of office has triggered a constitutional crisis,” Pelosi said,although she herself has stopped short of calling for Trump’s ouster.