Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) was one of the Democrats who supported articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, but she’s walking back support for that now that her party commands a majority in the House of Representatives.
“I supported the articles of impeachment because Republicans refused to allow us to even have discussion about the things that were out there,” she said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, later saying that now that the Democrats are in charge, they will use their subpoena power to investigate the administration. She said they were just requesting information already made available to federal law enforcement agencies.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his report about Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election to U.S. Attorney General William Barr. The big questions are what’s in it and whether the public will learn the details. The AG told Congress he is reviewing it, and may be able to tell them the main conclusions as soon as this weekend.
The Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2018 midterms. New Speaker Nancy Pelosi told The Atlantic last November that what Mueller may not believe to be indictable may still be impeachable. Impeachable or not, it’s a tall order to remove Trump from office, assuming a party line vote. The House only requires a majority vote to impeach, but the Senate, where Republicans command a 53-47, needs a supermajority for removal.
The president and his allies met news of the Mueller report with some cheer, as there reportedly will not be any new indictments against Trump campaign figures. They have repeatedly called the investigation a “witch hunt” by Democrats angry about losing the election.
[Screengrab via CNN]
