In an interview with Fox News broadcast on Sunday, Republican Rep. Devin Nunes of California said that the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is a “coup,” reports Mediaite .
Host Ed Henry started the discussion by pointing out that some Republicans have described the impeachment inquiry as a coup.
Notably, Henry reminded the viewers, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said earlier today that the investigation is actually a “calculated coup” orchestrated by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff,
“Is this a calculated coup against President Trump, and if so, how do you back that up?” Henry asked Nunes.
The California Republican dodged the question, comparing the impeachment inquiry to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference and related matters.
Nunes said that impeachment is “the cheap knockoff version of the Russia hoax,” arguing that “some parts of the bureaucracy” opposed to Trump did not like some of his foreign policy actions pertaining to Ukraine, so they are now trying to take him down.
Henry pressed his guest to answer the question, and address the “coup” rhetoric some Republicans have been parroting.
Nunes agreed with their assessment of the inquiry, stating that the impeachment investigation is indeed a coup meant to remove Trump from the White House.
“There’s no question that it’s a coup,” he said.
“I’ve called it in the past a paper coup,” Nunes added, arguing that the fact that “nobody’s rising up arms against the government” does not mean that those in the Washington “swamp” don’t want to see Trump removed from office.
According to the GOP lawmaker, Democrats in the United States Congress, members of the media, and Washington professionals “just didn’t like that a businessman from New York with no political experience became the president,” so they have decided to launch a coup.
Henry pushed back against his guest’s suggestion, reminding him that impeachment is in the United States Constitution, which means that it is a perfectly legal process.
Nunes argued that the investigation is not “credible,” and not a “fair process” for Trump.
President Trump: “Regardless of what anyone says, read the transcript.” pic.twitter.com/DBvLSsRxiP
— The Hill (@thehill) November 11, 2019
Nunes has become one of Trump’s fiercest defenders in Congress , frequently echoing the president’s rhetoric and attacking House Democrats in charge of the investigation.
Earlier this week, Nunes took aim at Schiff, urging him to testify in the impeachment probe. According to the California Republican, either Schiff or one of his aides met with the White House whistleblower without notifying GOP lawmakers in the House.
According to the whistleblower, Trump had a quid pro quo agreement with the government of Ukraine. The president withheld military aid in an attempt to force the Ukrainians to investigate one of his main political rivals, former Vice President Joe Biden, according to the anonymous official.
