Efforts to impeach Donald Trump
In May 2019, Pelosi indicated that Trump's continued actions, which she characterized as obstruction of justice and refusal to honor congressional subpoenas, might make an impeachment inquiry necessary.
On September 24, 2019, Pelosi announced that six committees would undertake a formal impeachment inquiry after reports about controversial interactions between Trump and the country of Ukraine.
[3] Concerns had previously been expressed that Trump's extensive business and real estate dealings, especially with respect to government agencies in other countries, may violate the Foreign Emoluments Clause of the Constitution,[4] sparking debate as to whether that is the case.
[15][16] Fox News outlined two potential bases for impeachment, one being the Emoluments Clause and the other being complicity with Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election.
[50] Two Republican representatives, Justin Amash (R-MI) and Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), called for impeachment on the grounds that obstruction of justice charges against Trump were proven true.
[60][61] On May 17, former FBI director Robert Mueller was appointed special counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, acting after the recusal of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, to lead a Special Counsel investigation to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election,[62] and any cover-up related to it by Trump or any White House officials.
[63][64] According to sources close to the White House, the Trump administration is considering using various obscure legal means to slow down the investigation and undermine the special counsel.
"[5] Former United States attorney Preet Bharara said in a June 11 interview with ABC News that "there's absolutely evidence to begin a case" regarding obstruction of justice by Trump.
[77] Democrats in the House Judiciary committee demanded that hearings begin as soon as possible,[78] but the Republicans demurred, rewriting the request in favor of investigations into Hillary Clinton's emails.
[81][82] In late October, progressive activist hedge-fund manager Tom Steyer funded an impeachment campaign that quickly garnered 1.3 million signatures.
[90][91] The matter became an issue, primarily for Republicans, in the midterm elections,[92][93] with both conservatives and the president himself warning of dire consequences if he is impeached.
On February 27, 2019, Cohen publicly testified before the House Oversight committee on possible high crimes and misdemeanors committed by President Trump both before and after taking office.
White House officials dismissed the credibility of his testimony in advance, calling him a "disgraced felon" and "convicted liar".
[112] Cohen also showed lawmakers a check for $35,000 which the president wrote to him on August 1, 2017, and said it was used as a part of a hush money payoff to Stormy Daniels as well.
[134] Mueller added, "The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing," which was taken as meaning that it would be up to Congress to make such a determination.
[170] Many public officials, including state-level and municipal officers, have cited their support for Trump's removal via Section 4 of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
[171][172] Following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, hundreds of political scientists also called for Trump's removal via the Twenty-fifth Amendment.
[177] This assertion was repeated in another court filing in a suit seeking to compel the testimony of former White House Counsel Don McGahn,[178] stating: The Judiciary Committee is now determining whether to recommend articles of impeachment against the president based on the obstructive conduct described by the special counsel, [...] But it cannot fulfill this most solemn constitutional responsibility without hearing testimony from a crucial witness to these events: former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II.Later that day, Chairman Jerrold Nadler went on both CNN and MSNBC and said proceedings had indeed begun and that impeachment hearings would begin in September.
Lewandowski exhibited a letter from President Trump stating that he was forbidden to answer questions due to executive privilege, even though he had never worked in the White House and was not entitled to it.
[183] There were two other witnesses scheduled that day, and President Trump directed former top aides, Rob Porter and Rick Dearborn, not to appear to testify before Congress, which they did not.
Several committees in the House of Representatives have issued subpoenas for materials and testimonies from people and institutions within the Trump administration as well as external entities.
The president's personal lawyers have issued letters saying all such requests will be ignored or opposed[144] and have filed several lawsuits to prevent the release of any information to Congress.
[191] On November 18, 2019, The House counsel filed a brief with Judge Howell to release the materials immediately, as redacted grand jury testimony appeared to show the President perjured himself before the Mueller probe and it was part of the impeachment inquiry.
[203] In an opinion piece two days later, attorneys George Conway and Neal Katyal called the brief "spectacularly anti-constitutional," arguing it places the president above the law while noting that Congress routinely investigates criminal matters.
[204] Oral arguments took place on July 12, 2019, before a three-judge panel consisting of Neomi Rao, David Tatel, and Patricia Millett.
[215] On August 8, 2019, it was reported by The Wall Street Journal that Deutsche Bank, as well as others, had complied with the subpoenas despite the suit, handing over thousands of documents.
[240][230][241][242] Juan Williams suggested Trump would consider being impeached by the House but acquitted in the Senate a victory, allowing him to reiterate that all accusations against him are false.
[241] Greg Gutfeld suggested that Trump might feel it would actually add to his legacy, and to be impeached while the economy was doing well would elevate him to the status of folk hero.
[255] On the East Coast, the Cambridge, Massachusetts city council passed a policy order to support a House resolution to investigate Emoluments Clause conflicts.
[260] By the following week, after the controversial rollout of Executive Order 13769, which barred people from seven majority-Muslim countries from entering the United States, support for impeachment had grown to 40%.
