Elizabeth Warren calls for impeachment proceedings to begin after Mueller report
WASHINGTON — Sen. Elizabeth Warren became the first major presidential candidate to call for impeachment proceedings to begin in the wake of the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2020 election.
"The severity of this misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political considerations and do their constitutional duty. That means the House should initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States," the Massachusetts senator said on Twitter.
The severity of this misconduct demands that elected officials in both parties set aside political considerations and do their constitutional duty. That means the House should initiate impeachment proceedings against the President of the United States.
— Elizabeth Warren (@ewarren) April 19, 2019
Mueller's 448-page report detailed multiple contacts between Russian operatives and Trump associates during the 2016 campaign but said the investigation did not find evidence of a criminal conspiracy. The report also documented a series of actions by Trump to derail the special counsel's investigation, though it did not reach a conclusion on whether he illegally sought to obstruct justice. Attorney General William Barr later determined that the president’s conduct did not constitute a crime.
"Our investigation found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations," the report said. But it said those efforts "were mostly unsuccessful ... largely because the persons who surrounded the president declined to carry out orders or accede to his requests."
Democrats reacted with alarm to news that Trump had tried to impede the investigation and vowed to continue to investigate. Chairmen of two top committees have requested Mueller appear before their panels next month.
What is next: First, a subpoena for everything
Top takeaways: Trump thought Mueller would 'end' his presidency and more
Warren said that the report "lays out facts showing that a hostile foreign government attacked our 2016 election to help Donald Trump and Donald Trump welcomed that help. Once elected, Donald Trump obstructed the investigation into that attack."
She said that Mueller gave Congress the responsibility on what to do next and impeachment was "the correct process for exercising that authority."
Warren is the first major candidate to outright call for impeachment proceedings to begin.
Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is also running for president, said on CNN Thursday that the issue should remain on the table.
So far, House Democratic leadership has tried to tamp down talk of impeachment, without ruling it out entirely.
Republicans were quick to criticize Warren as trying to appeal to the party's base.
"Democrats' calls for impeachment have been bogus all along, but Elizabeth Warren is proving how truly desperate they are to appeal to their radical base," Republican Party Chair Ronna McDaniel tweeted Friday afternoon.
.@realDonaldTrump was just exonerated after TWO YEARS of Democrat lies.
Democrats' calls for impeachment have been bogus all along, but Elizabeth Warren is proving how truly desperate they are to appeal to their radical base.— Ronna McDaniel (@GOPChairwoman) April 19, 2019
Contributing: Kevin Johnson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elizabeth Warren calls for impeachment proceedings to begin after Mueller report
