Alex Thomas
While there have been a number of Democrats calling for impeachment over the past few months, Californian Congressman Brad Sherman finally introduced articles of impeachment against president Trump on Wednesday afternoon. In a tweet, Sherman enclosed the four-page document outlining his case for the impeachment of Donald J. Trump.
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I have introduced H.Res. 438 Articles of #Impeachment of Donald J. Trump for Obstruction of Justice. Statement here: https://t.co/0gKr8ZFg3c pic.twitter.com/yUTDAnPFuJ
— Congressman Brad Sherman (@BradSherman) July 12, 2017
Sherman’s introduction — House Resolution 438 — declares that President Trump violated “his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed [and] has obstructed and impeded the administration of justice during a federal investigation.” The congressman offered four proofs that Trump has obstructed justice:
1.) Requested the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation curtail the investigation of the activities of General Michael Flynn under circumstances wherein it appeared that Director Comey might be terminated if he failed to adhere to such request.
2.) Making a determination to terminate the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and only thereafter requesting that the Deputy Attorney General provide him with a memorandum detailing inadequacies in the Director’s performance of his duties.
3.) Despite offering differing rationales for the termination of the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, admitted subsequently that the main reason for the termination was that the Director would not close or alter the investigation of matters related to the involvement of Russia in the 2016 campaign for President of the United States.
4.) Stated that, once he had terminated the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the pressure of said investigation had been significantly reduced.
Sherman’s bill marks the first time that articles of impeachment have formally been brought against President Trump, and it is unlikely to clear the House of Representatives, where Republicans have a 24-seat advantage. In a statement to the Hill, Sherman said, “I served with Mike Pence in Congress for 12 years and I disagree with him on just about everything. […] I never dreamed I would author a measure that would put him in the White House.”
The California Democrat has served in the house for 11 terms, and his bill was co-sponsored by Congressman Al Green (D-Texas), who has previously called for Trump’s impeachment on the floor of the House. The bill will have to go to the House Judiciary Committee before it sees the floor of the house. A spokesperson for Congressman Sherman said that he believes that the bill is eligible for the discharge petition process, meaning that, with enough signatures, it can be brought to the House floor without the approval of Speaker Paul Ryan.
In a statement to Rare, Former Speaker and leading Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi’s office eased away from commenting on the impeachment bill, instead noting, “Recent revelations, coupled with president’s unprecedented campaign of dishonesty and secrecy, give greater urgency to the need for House Republicans bring a vote to the floor immediately to establish an outside independent commission […] to get to the bottom of Trump’s connection to Russia’s interference in the election.”
