On a day when top Democrats like House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) tried to downplay any talk of impeaching President Donald Trump, Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) declared that it is Congress’s “responsibility” to impeach Trump for “high crimes.”
Pelosi has previously said that “any discussion of impeachment” would be a “gift to Republicans” and claimed on Wednesday that impeachment is “not a priority” for Democrats.
But after Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to various campaign finance violations on Tuesday, Waters could not restrain herself, tweeting about impeachment hours after Pelosi signaled to Democrats to downplay the issue.
“Cohen admitted Trump instructed him to break the law. If it’s a crime for Cohen, it’s a crime for Trump. Debates about whether you can indict a president do not excuse Congress from its responsibility to impeach Trump for ‘treason, bribery, or other high crimes & misdemeanors,’” Waters tweeted. “The high crimes are giving aid and classified information to our enemies (Russia), abusing the pardon, breaking campaign finance laws, working w/ Russians to get ‘dirt’ on political opponents, and coming soon from Special Counsel Mueller, obstruction of justice.”
Waters, who has insisted that impeaching Trump should be the party’s most important priority, has previously said that while she respects Pelosi’s desire to focus more on “public policy,” she would continue to push for impeachment, saying she is with the 70 percent of Democrats who want Trump impeached.
Top Democrats have tiptoed around impeachment questions this week, fearful that nationalizing the midterm elections around Trump’s potential impeachment could backfire on Democrats and block the so-called blue wave from materializing.
The high crimes are giving aid and classified information to our enemies (Russia), abusing the pardon, breaking campaign finance laws, working w/ Russians to get “dirt” on political opponents, and coming soon from Special Counsel Mueller, obstruction of justice.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) August 22, 2018
Cohen admitted Trump instructed him to break the law. If it’s a crime for Cohen, it’s a crime for Trump. Debates about whether you can indict a president do not excuse Congress from its responsibility to impeach Trump for “treason, bribery, or other high crimes & misdemeanors.”
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) August 22, 2018
Cohen said he would take a bullet for Trump. I guess he never said anything about jail time!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) August 22, 2018
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