April 21, 2019

Top Democrat Suggests Mueller Report May Be Grounds for Impeachment

Jerrold Nadler said the obstruction of justice laid out in the report, if proven, would justify impeachment.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold NadlerTom Williams/Congressional Quarterly/Newscom via ZUMA

The chairman of the House Judiciary Committee thinks that the possible obstruction of justice outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller’s report is grounds for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

“If proven,” Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) told Meet the Press’ Chuck Todd on Sunday morning, “some of this would be impeachable. Obstruction of justice would be impeachable.”

When asked by Todd if he would go about proving it, Nadler replied, “We’re going to see where the facts take us.”

After a redacted version of the Mueller report was released on Thursday, Nadler said on Friday that he planned to subpoena a full version of the report. At the time, he did not say whether he would pursue impeachment, but left the option on the table.

Nadler is one of the highest-ranking Democrats in the House to suggest that Trump might deserve to be impeached. His new stance comes as Democrats have struggled to find consensus on whether to pursue impeachment against the president.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has rejected calls for impeachment, but high-profile reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) called for impeachment hearings and to investigate potential obstruction of justice.

In March, Pelosi said that pursuing impeachment would not be “worth it,” but she has dodged the question in recent days, since the release of the Mueller report. She is set to lead a meeting with House Democrats on Monday about the report and the party’s next steps.

Even if the House were to impeach Trump, the Republican-controlled Senate would be extremely unlikely to take up the case against the president. That hasn’t stopped some top Democrats in the Senate, including 2020 presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), from coming out for impeachment following the release of the Mueller report.

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