Adam Schiff Signals Willingness To Move Forward With Trump Impeachment
Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s final report left little doubt about there being a Trump-Russia conspiracy, but Mueller’s findings pertaining to potential obstruction of justice were not nearly as conclusive. Even though the special counsel — adhering to Justice Department recommendations — refused to charge the president with the crime of obstruction, Trump was not exonerated either.
Filling the void created by Robert Mueller’s reluctance, since day one, has been the issue of impeachment. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, this appears to have divided the Democratic Party: House progressives are calling for impeachment proceedings to being, but top Democrats remain opposed to it.
One of Donald Trump’s most prominent Democratic nemesis, Adam Schiff, has long refused to come out in favor of impeachment. He has, however, compared the obstruction case against Trump to Watergate, going as far as suggesting that what Trump has done is “far worse” than Nixon’s crimes.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler have all, much like Schiff, argued against impeachment.
Now, Adam Schiff is signaling a willingness to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
In an interview with The Washington Post published on Thursday, Schiff discussed the prospect of impeachment, strongly indicating for the first time that he would be in favor of such an initiative. Schiff drew a parallel between Donald Trump and Richard Nixon, suggesting that the case for impeachment is getting stronger.
“Obstruction of Congress was one of the bases on which the impeachment of Richard Nixon was sought,” he said, adding that Trump’s obstructions of the Mueller investigation and Congress “strengthen” the case for impeachment.
Adam Schiff, who had previously expressed reticence about impeachment for reasons that never made sense, now says "the case to move forward with an impeachment proceeding" has been "strengthened." We are fast approaching the tipping point, people https://t.co/cEZs39bSl0
— Michael Tracey (@mtracey) May 8, 2019
As The Washington Post notes, although he has previously argued against impeachment suggesting that the GOP-controlled Senate would never accept such an outcome, Schiff is now “talking about an impeachment inquiry as something that Democrats may be forced to resort to, in response to continued across-the-board stonewalling from Trump, regardless of what Republicans think.”
Nadler said at presser: "We are now in a constitutional crisis." So I asked him, if we're in a constitutional crisis, why he's resisting impeachment.
"The short answer is that may not be the best answer in this constitutional crisis. There are lot of considerations for that." pic.twitter.com/rPgdBO4gEm
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 8, 2019
Schiff also discussed spying allegations brought by William Barr during a Congressional hearing, alleging bias and accusing the attorney general of acting like Donald Trump’s “lieutenant.” As the battle between Congress and the White House continues, many are drawing parallels between Watergate and the Trump obstruction scandal.
As the Post notes, legal experts have argued that impeachment hearings could “strengthen the legal hand” of the Democratic Party. Acknowledging this argument, Adam Schiff once again signaled a willingness to move forward with impeachment proceedings against President Trump. According to the top Democrat, “these continued acts of willful obstruction add new weight to those who have advocated impeachment.”
