Democratic strategist Juanita Tolliver on Wednesday said that the path was clear for impeachment proceedings to take place against President Trump after two of his former confidants were found guilty or pleaded guilty in federal criminal probes.
“I think the path is clear,” Tolliver, who is the campaigns director at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, told Hill.TV’s Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on “Rising,” when asked if it was more likely that Democrats move forward on impeachment after the developments with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and former Trump personal attorney Michael Cohen.
“Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to fall to Democratic challengers once they take House, but it’s really on congressional Republicans right now, who are in those seats who have the opportunity right now to hold the president accountable, and really name and pin down this culture of corruption that he’s perpetuating,” she continued.
Congressional Democrats have been quick to comment on the developments surrounding Manafort and Cohen.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee, said the president could be “part of a federal crime.”
“If, as Michael Cohen testified in his guilty plea, his felonies were committed at the direction of @realDonaldTrump, then the POTUS would be part of a federal crime – the only thing limiting DOJ from prosecuting being an OLC ruling saying a sitting president cannot be indicted,” Nadler tweeted on Tuesday.
If, as Michael Cohen testified in his guilty plea, his felonies were committed at the direction of @realDonaldTrump, then the POTUS would be part of a federal crime – the only thing limiting DOJ from prosecuting being an OLC ruling saying a sitting president cannot be indicted. https://t.co/YLjfPXKtqP
— (((Rep. Nadler))) (@RepJerryNadler) August 21, 2018
Nadler will likely become the committee’s chairman if Democrats take back the House in November, which could mean the committee would begin impeachment proceedings.
However, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said on Wednesday that impeachment was not a priority for Democrats after Cohen’s guilty plea.
“Impeachment has to spring from something else,” Pelosi told the Associated Press. “If and when the information emerges about that, we’ll see.”
“It’s not a priority on the agenda going forward unless something else comes forward,” she said.
— Julia Manchester
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