June 16, 2019

The Case for Impeachment As presented by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman

The Case for Impeachment

As presented by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman

North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman has made no secret of his desire to see the U.S. House of Representatives officially begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. He's been steadfastly outspoken on the subject. His public statements began largely 140 fiery characters at a time on Twitter before, in February of 2018, Huffman co-sponsored the Articles of Impeachment introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee. But in recent weeks, in the wake of the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report, amid a slowly growing chorus of House Democrats calling for impeachment, Huffman has been making the national media rounds, interviewed by the likes of CNN, Politico and the Huffington Post.

As Congress mulls the historic step, the Journal caught up with Huffman on June 7. Looking to go beyond the tweets, sound bites and pithy quotes, we asked Huffman, a lawyer by trade, to make his case as to why the House should begin impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States. Here's a transcript of our conversation, which has been minimally edited for clarity.

North Coast Journal: To start, we're going to tap into your lawyerly past and ask you to give us a brief opening argument as to why it's time for the House to start impeachment proceedings.

Jared Huffman: The distinction that you just made is an important one — impeachment proceedings as opposed to just going straight to an impeachment vote. It would be a mistake, I think — and I say this even as someone who favors impeachment — to do what the Republicans did in 1998 and simply take a special counsel's report and rush right to the floor for a vote. That would be a disservice to the process, it would look a lot like a partisan power play and it's not going to happen that way.
What I do believe should happen is we should take these disparate inquiries and subpoena battles and investigations, and wrap them into a coherent context for the American people, because the truth is we are looking into the corruption issues and continuing to look at the counter intelligence stuff with Russia and the follow-up on the Mueller report issues and different things because they could potentially lead to impeachment. That is very much the backdrop to all this. I think bringing it into a coherent context as part of an official impeachment inquiry would help people understand that better.

Remainder of interview at: https://www.northcoastjournal.com/humboldt/the-case-for-impeachment/Content?oid=14406632

June 9, 2019

Support for Impeachment Surges Among Democrats but Majority of Americans Still Oppose It

Support for Impeachment Surges Among Democrats but Majority of Americans Still Oppose It

By Daniel Politi
June 02, 201911:24 AM

Democrats are increasingly in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, with 76 percent saying they support the move to oust the president from office, according to a new CNN poll. That marks a seven-percentage-point increase from April when support for impeachment stood at 69 percent among Democrats, according to the poll conducted by SSRS.

Among Americans as a whole, support for impeachment increased only slightly to 41 percent, up from 37 percent last month. On the opposite end, 54 percent are opposed to impeachment. And despite the slight uptick, it is hardly the highest it has ever been compared to the 47 percent who supported impeachment in September 2018.

The president’s constant soundbite that he is under attack by Democrats appears to be working as 65 percent say he is facing more investigations than any previous president. But that doesn’t mean the public think the investigations are unfair. Almost half of Americans, or 47 percent, say the investigations are justified, while 44 percent say they are not. That is pretty much divided among party lines, with 75 percent of Democrats saying the investigations are justified and 74 percent of Republicans saying they are not justified.

Despite the slight shifts in opinions about impeachment, Trump’s overall approval rating has remained steady and a clear majority continue to disapprove of the president. While 43 percent say they approve of the job Trump is doing in the White House, 52 percent say they disapprove.

The poll comes at a time when Democratic lawmakers are increasingly facing calls from their constituents to begin impeachment proceedings. On Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s speech to the California Democratic Party State Convention was repeatedly interrupted by cries of “impeach” from the audience.

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/06/impeachment-poll-surges-democrats-trump.html

June 1, 2019

Nancy Pelosi greeted by cries of 'impeach' at California Democratic convention

Source: SF Chronicle

Nancy Pelosi greeted by cries of ‘impeach’ at California Democratic convention


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s call Saturday for a country blessed with unity was punctuated with cries of “Impeach!” from the crowd at the California Democratic Party’s convention in San Francisco, highlighting the rifts plaguing even her own party.

Speaking to an enthusiastic crowd at the Moscone Center, the San Francisco Democrat pledged to keep the heat on President Trump.

“We will go where the facts lead us. ... President Trump will be held accountable for his actions — in the Congress, in the courts and in the court of public opinion,” she said, while also promising, “We will strive to unify, not divide, our country as we protect and defend it.”

Pelosi has steadfastly insisted on sticking with House inquiries into the Trump administration on several fronts before launching any impeachment proceedings. She has left open the possibility of such proceedings, but has shown little enthusiasm for them.

remainder at link.


Read more: https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/Nancy-Pelosi-greeted-by-cries-of-impeach-at-13915993.php