After expressing his support for the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Saturday and continuing to delve into his opinion Monday, as The Inquisitr reported, Republican Congressman Justing Amash took to Twitter on Thursday to lay out a more detailed case for his position.
The Libertarian-leaning attorney by trade says that Robert Mueller’s report describes a “consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede” the investigation into potential Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Detroit Free Press reports that he believes these actions were explicitly done because the investigation put his interests at risk.
“The president has an obligation not to violate the public trust, including using official powers for corrupt purposes.”
“For instance, presidents have the authority to nominate judges, but a president couldn’t select someone to nominate because they’d promised the president money,” he added.
Amash suggests that this principle should be applied all of the president’s powers, including his authority over federal officials and their investigations, as well as pardons. He added that Trump had an incentive to impede Mueller’s investigation, including connections between Russia and his campaign.
Afterward, Amash outlined the various examples in the Mueller report of Trump’s obstruction, including his attempt to stop the investigation of Michael Flynn, his attempt to reverse the recusal of then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and his attempt to remove Special Counsel Mueller from leading the investigation, among others.
Republican Rep. Justin Amash calls President Trump “irresponsible” after his threat to block legislation amid investigations https://t.co/0Uvz8865Zj pic.twitter.com/tZ9rVhjiIU
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 22, 2019
Amash’s decision to attack Trump has caused backlash from the president himself and the Republican party. Trump responded to Amash’s initial Twitter thread last week by calling him a “total lightweight” and a “loser,” as The Inquisitr reported. Not only that, The Washington Post reports that the wealthy DeVos family, megadonors to the Republican party, have cut ties with Amash, and Republicans across the country appear to be distancing themselves from him.
Before his comments on Thursday, Amash said Wednesday that it was “irresponsible” of Trump to try and pressure Democrats to stop their current investigations into him by threatening to hold up legislation.
Per CNN , Amash spoke to a group of eighth-graders the same day and shared with them what he learned from his time in Congress, and also gave advice to any of them seeking to take the dive into politics.
“Don’t let people convince you that principles only matter when the outcome is in your favor. Principles matter especially, and really only, when the outcome is not in your favor.”
