Congress Reluctantly Starts Impeachment Inquiry into Trump
Robert Mueller has suggested that Congress should take the final decision on Trump’s collusion with Russia as well as on the issue of obstruction of justice.
By Rakesh Raman
After former Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony Wednesday (July 24), the House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler admitted begrudgingly that the Congress has started the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
Although Trump has been claiming that he was completely exonerated in the Mueller report that has delineated Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, in his testimony Mueller said categorically that Trump has not been exonerated.
Congress is still reluctant to start a formal impeachment process to determine the extent of Trump’s collusion with Russia to win the 2016 presidential race deceitfully and later his attempt to obstruct justice with the aim to derail the Mueller’s investigation.
As Democrats believe that they still do not have sufficient facts to start impeachment proceedings against Trump, they are seeking judicial intervention to get full details regarding Trump’s ties with Russia and his attempt to impede the probe.
After nearly two years of investigation, Mueller had delivered a 448-page report on March 20. The findings in the Mueller report have covered charges of conspiracy and the obstruction of justice. Although the report did not exonerate Trump, he has been making unsubstantiated claims that he did not collude with Russia and did not obstruct justice.
In his report, Mueller has suggested that Congress should take the final decision on Trump’s collusion with Russia as well as on the issue of obstruction of justice. But despite repeated requests by the House Judiciary Committee, Trump’s Attorney General William P. Barr has refused to share the full, unredacted report with the Congress.
Meanwhile, a report released by a nonpartisan watchdog Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) suggests that the time has come for Congress to begin a formal impeachment inquiry as Trump has foreclosed other options.
The report lays out three categories of high crimes and misdemeanors apparently committed by Trump, as well as explains why other avenues for oversight have been exhausted.
“We have exhausted other avenues to achieve executive branch accountability,” CREW Executive Director Noah Bookbinder said. “None of what we have experienced over the last two and a half years was inevitable.”
CREW argues that President Trump’s apparent ethical and legal abuses must be scrutinized by Congress. From his repeated obstruction of the Mueller investigation to his conspiracy to defraud campaign finance law to his systematic acceptance of emoluments, President Trump has left no option but an impeachment inquiry.
Bookbinder added if Congress does not act, it sends a message to all future presidents that they can violate the Constitution with impunity.
Meanwhile, in an ongoing RMN Poll, 54% people suggest that Congress should impeach Trump who had allegedly taken Russia’s help to win the 2016 presidential race.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of a humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He also creates and publishes a number of digital publications on different subjects.
