Democrat Clashes With MSNBC Host Over Trump Impeachment: ‘I Can Tell You Are Frustrated And Angry’
On Saturday, Maryland Democrat and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jamie Raskin, went on MSNBC to discuss the latest developments in American politics pertaining to President Donald Trump, Raw Story reports.
Since the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, the question of impeachment has been looming large. Some Democrats appear eager to begin impeachment proceedings, while others continue signaling caution.
Like virtually all top Democrats, Raskin has refrained from calling for impeachment. This appears to have rubbed MSNBC host Joy Reid the wrong way, according to Raw Story, which reports that the host and the Democratic representative clashed over the issue.
Raskin began the conversation by arguing that the Democrats should continue investigating Trump in order to determine whether there were “high crimes and misdemeanors.”
“Were such crimes committed? If so, what should we do about it?” he asked, after referencing Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton’s impeachment, suggesting once again that House Democrats should be cautious.
But Reid wasn’t happy with Raskin’s argument. The host argued that Democratic arguments of impeachment causing “division” don’t hold water, given that the United States is already a “sharply divided country.”
She said that Republicans “don’t really seem to care” about unity, arguing that Attorney General William Barr is “fully bought in” as well.
“What are you going to do about it?” she pressed Raskin.
“Joy, I can tell you are frustrated and angry,” the Democrat responded, proceeding to claim that the Democrats “believe in the rule of law.”
“We are not going to descend to political and racial and tribal places like they have,” Raskin said, taking a shot at his Republican colleagues.
WATCH: Dem lawmaker snaps at MSNBC host for grilling him on why Democrats are doing nothing about Trump obstructionhttps://t.co/XRpPWckYf2#AMJoy
— Raw Story (@RawStory) May 18, 2019
The Democrat then went on to argue that Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s findings pertaining to obstruction of justice need to be turned over to Congress before further steps are taken, and even that would be “only halfway,” because Trump could be impeached, but not removed.
According to Raskin, what the majority of Americans are referring to when discussing impeachment is removal of the president.
“We are only halfway there. That is an appropriate course of action,” he said, adding Mueller outlined “high crimes and misdemeanors” in his report.
Echoing many of his Democratic colleagues, the Maryland representative accused Attorney General William Barr of misleading the public about Mueller’s findings.
It comes as no surprise that Raskin is shifting the attention to William Barr, since most Democrats appear content with legally targeting the attorney general instead of going after the commander-in-chief.
As previously reported by The Inquisitr, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly clashed with Barr during a behind-closed-doors encounter, and the attorney general jokingly dared her to handcuff him.
