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California Lawmaker First To File Article Of Impeachment Against Trump

By Jim Hagerty
Published on: 09:12 PST, Jul 12, 2017

A member of the United States House of Representatives filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, July 12.

Although removing a president from office is not an easy task, California Democrat Rep. Brad Sherman has accused Trump of obstructing the investigation of a Russian attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election when he fired FBI Director James Comey.

Sherman said in a statement that he expects more Republicans to join the effort to impeach Trump, calling the president impulsive and incompetent.

Although there has been buzz of late about a growing number of Republicans reportedly ready to join the push to remove Trump, the GOP-led House has not shown strong signs of support. According to Sherman, it is still unclear how many Democrats would even support the effort. Over the last two months, Democratic leaders have shied away from impeachment. Some say the effort will only prompt Trump supporters to ramp up their defense. Others say it is smarter to allow the dust to settle on the Comey situation.

Sherman’s article of impeachment comes a day after Donald Trump Jr. admitted he met with a Russian lawyer who claimed to have incriminating evidence against Hillary Clinton. Trump Jr., however, released a string of emails regarding the meeting and told the press he did not receive any information about Clinton as the result of the sit-down.

The article was co-sponsored by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas.

Meanwhile, President Trump has questioned the veracity of the emails and United States intelligence staffers who looked into the Russian attempt to fix last November’s election. The FBI and other agencies claim they have proof Russia attempted to meddle with the outcome of the presidential race between Trump and Clinton. Clinton won the popular tally while Trump became president by capturing the vote in the Electoral College.

For Trump to be removed from office, 25 GOP members of the House would have to vote for impeachment. He would then face a trial in the Senate, where a two-thirds vote is needed to strip him of his job. But before the resolution even goes to the House floor, it would need to be approved by the House Committee on Judiciary, a committee in which Republicans hold a majority.

Two U.S. presidents have been impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, but neither was removed. Johnson remained by a single Senate vote. Clinton was spared by a 10-vote margin.

[Featured Image by Czarek Sokolowski/AP Images]

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