‘Dangerous behavior’ prompts Fort Worth Democrat to join impeachment calls against Trump
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi late Tuesday formally called for an impeachment inquiry to begin against President Donald Trump.
She moved forward, with the support of most Democrats including Rep. Marc Veasey of Fort Worth, in the wake of reports that the president froze money for military help for Ukraine days before he pressured the nation’s leader to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden’s son.
“The president must be held accountable,” Pelosi said. “No one is above the law.”
On Monday, reports from The Washington Post and other news outlets noted there’s a whistleblower report that shows the president told his staff to hold off on giving Ukraine $400 million in military aid in July before he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Biden’s son, Hunter, has business dealings in Ukraine.
Trump said he did delay the financial help, but indicated it was to battle corruption.
On Tuesday, the president called growing calls for impeachment a “ridiculous witch hunt.”
Veasey, who had been reluctant to call on leaders to move forward with the inquiry, changed his mind Tuesday.
“I am extremely troubled by the news that President Donald Trump admitted that he openly welcomed help from a foreign leader to get damaging information on a political opponent,” he wrote in a statement. “The President’s recent action is only one part of a greater pattern of reckless and lawless behavior that undercuts our national and electoral security and will damage our Democracy for years to come.
“While we are still gathering the full facts of what occurred between the President and the foreign leader, I believe Congress must act now in the face of our President’s continued dangerous behavior. No one is above the law — not even the occupant of the highest office — and that is why I support moving forward with an impeachment inquiry.”
Many Democrats — following the lead of Pelosi — have been reluctant to move forward with impeachment proceedings.
Some believe moving forward with impeachment could be bad news for Democrats in the 2020 election, a though echoed by Republicans on Tuesday.
“Just a reminder, impeachment remains grossly unpopular among voters,” Bob Salera, deputy communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, wrote in an email Tuesday morning.
Even so, Veasey said it’s time to move forward.
“The American people deserve a government that is by the people and for the people and the best way we can uphold that is by ensuring our President is held accountable when he consistently abuses power for his own personal gain,” he said in his statement.
This story was originally published September 24, 2019 at 11:07 AM.
