Rep.Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that President Donald Trump has “undoubtedly” committed impeachable offenses and referred to impeachment as a “critical tool in the toolbox” but that Democrats would also focus on issues like healthcare if they win back the House.
“Everybody on our side understands that impeachment is a critical tool in the toolbox for constitutional self-defense against a president acting like a king, an imperious, lawless, arrogant king,” Raskin said, responding to a question about whether Democrats should move to impeach Trump if they retake the House.He added, though, that Trump’s two impeachments constituted half of all impeachments in U.S.history, noting that after the Jan.
6, 2021, attack on the U.S.Capitol, Democrats were unable to persuade enough Republicans to side with them to convict the president.
Trump has been impeached twice, though he has never been convicted.As midterm elections approach, Democrats have not closed the door on moving to impeach Trump again if they retake the House.
Trump, too, has warned his supporters that Democrats could try to impeach him again.Moderator Kristen Welker pressed Raskin again on his stance toward impeachment, and Raskin said that “impeachment is not a taboo with us.”“It’s not a fetish with us,” he said.
“We understand it’s not a panacea.It is a tool in the toolbox.
We will not hesitate to use it if we need to use it.”Raskin, who previously served as a lead impeachment manager against Trump, said that the president had “undoubtedly” committed impeachable offenses in his second term, adding, “We don’t have time to remotely scratch the surface.”“But going to war without a declaration of war, for example, continually defying Congress in terms of our appropriation of money, stealing our spending power from us,” he continued.“I mean, I would say even just bulldozing the East Wing of the White House.
If he can ...