The word "impeachment" has been making the rounds ever since Donald Trump pulled off a shocking Electoral College victory in the 2016 presidential election.
And earlier this week, a major bombshell dropped regarding Donald Trump Jr. The president's son had agreed to meet with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign after being promised "damaging information about Hillary Clinton" (in an email correspondence, ironically enough).
With this latest revelation, the possibility of impeachment seems more likely than ever. Two congressmen, representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA) and Al Green (D-TX) formally filed an article of impeachment on Wednesday.
Sherman and Green asserted that Trump committed obstruction of justice (an impeachable offense) when he asked then-FBI Director James Comey to "drop" the investigation into then-National Security Advisor Mike Flynn. He later fired Comey, who was leading the investigation into the Trump campaign's ties to Russia.
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"Every day, Democrats, Republicans, and the entire world are shocked by the latest example of America’s amateur president. Ignorance accompanied by a refusal to learn. Lack of impulse control, accompanied by a refusal to have his staff control his impulses," Sherman said in a statement released today. "But the Constitution does not provide for the removal of a president for impulsive, ignorant incompetence. It does provide for the removal of a president for high crimes and misdemeanors."
Sherman acknowledged that impeachment won't be an easy feat and, even if they're successful, Democrats aren't exactly big fans of Vice President Michael Pence. Also, prominent Democrats Nancy Pelosi, Joe Crowley, and Michael Capuano are hesitant to file for impeachment at this point.
Impeachment proceedings have only occurred twice in history, with Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, and neither president was removed from office. (Richard Nixon resigned when the impeachment process was initiated.)
Sherman says he hopes the article of impeachment will inspire an intervention as Russia-related events (such as the possible testimony of former campaign manager Paul Manafort) continue to unfold.
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