In the hour after Special Counsel Robert Mueller gave a press conference Wednesday, the number of Democrats calling for Congress to begin impeachment hearings stood at 34. But that number skyrocketed to 50 after his speech.
That’s a significant jump of nearly 50 percent in the few brief hours following his speech, writes David Badash, for The New Civil Rights Movement.
And Emily C. Singer, ShareBlue’s senior political reporter, is keeping track of all the Representatives and Senators calling for impeachment or impeachment investigations into President Donald Trump. Singer’s work history is impressive, with bylines ranging from RollCall to Mashable, so she knows her stuff.
I now have 49 members of the House/Senate calling for an impeachment inquiry or impeachment https://t.co/Binhb5LPFL https://t.co/vEZQsXyUvt
— Emily C. Singer (@CahnEmily) May 29, 2019
As soon as she tweeted this, the number grew to 50 and in the spreadsheet she’s using the number has now risen to 52.
And the list of those who are rallying the impeachment battle cry is impressive. It includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). Reps Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
This means the pressure is doubling up on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to begin impeachment proceedings, The Washington Post reports.
“The next step is for the House Judiciary Committee to open an impeachment inquiry to formally begin consideration of whether or not articles of impeachment should be filed,” said Judiciary Committee member Rep. David N. Cicilline (D-R.I.) who’s also on Pelosi’s leadership team. “The opening of this inquiry will allow the committee to collect evidence, compel the attendance of witnesses, and decide how to proceed.”
Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) is also a member of the judiciary panel and on Twitter he noted:
“Robert S. Mueller III’s statement makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately.”
Robert Mueller’s statement makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately.
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) May 29, 2019
Warren also weighed in on Twitter.
“Mueller leaves no doubt: 1) He didn’t exonerate the president because there is evidence he committed crimes. 2) Justice Department policy prevented him from charging the president with any crimes. 3) The Constitution leaves it up to Congress to act — and that’s impeachment.”
Mueller leaves no doubt:
1) He didn't exonerate the president because there is evidence he committed crimes.
2) Justice Department policy prevented him from charging the president with any crimes.
3) The Constitution leaves it up to Congress to act—and that's impeachment.— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) May 29, 2019
For the most part, Pelosi has been largely non-committal about impeachment proceedings and she’s been resisting calls for impeachment, despite the fact that at least three dozen in her Democratic Caucus (including some on her leadership team) are pushing to begin impeachment proceedings.
Let’s hope that with enough pressure, Pelosi changes her mind.
But you can also help. Badash writes you can either contact your representatives or Senate members through the Capitol Hill switchboard. The number is (202) 224-3121.
Hey, it’s worth a shot, isn’t it?
This Washington Post video is from last month, but it includes lots of interesting reactions to the idea of Trump’s impeachment.
Featured image by Gage Skidmore, license CC SA 2.0 via Flickr
