A Republican congressman said Wednesday that he believed “members [of Congress] will act” if there is “clear and convincing and impeachable” evidence against President Donald Trump.
It was a bold statement from Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), though he hedged to CNBC that it was “too soon” for an impeachment inquiry.
“I’ll leave that to the Judiciary Committee,” Cole said, warning that Republicans shouldn’t occupy a “fantasy world” with regard to the Trump, despite the tendency to “give the President of your own party the benefit of the doubt.”
The allegation that Trump told his former fixer Michael Cohen to commit crimes, Cole said, was “potentially very dangerous.”
“You can’t dismiss it as a witch hunt,” Cole told CNBC, referring to special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe, and to the eight counts on which former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort was found guilty on Tuesday.
“Yesterday was a pretty sobering day,” Cole said. “The Mueller probe needs to be allowed to proceed.”
Separately, Cole told the New York Times that it had been “a really bad August.”
“Where there’s smoke, and there’s a lot of smoke, there may well be fire,” he said, referring to the President and leader of his own party.
“Anybody who says this is not disturbing is not being honest,” Cole added. “So my advice to any candidate would be: Keep your powder dry and don’t rush to attack or defend anybody because you just don’t know enough to have a reaction that you can still defend three months from now.”
“Every now and then,” Cole concluded to CNBC, “you have a legacy moment.”
“If there is clear evidence”? What does he need, a declaration from Trump that he has committed impeachable High Crimes and misdemeanors? Trump’s habitual lying, his overt contempt for the Constitution and for our democratic institutions are enough. His criminality is beyond doubt. Partisan support of his corrupt regime is cowardly and an unprecedented betrayal of responsibility.
Seems to be begging the question. Also seems to be stymieing his own bold statement when he says it is “too soon” for an impeachment inquiry, but I give him credit for repurposing the GOP response to gun violence.
I clicked on this headline fully convinced the GOP Rep was Duncan Hunter. /s
LOL no they won’t. But you’ll point to this in two years as evidence you were pretending to be on the right side of history.