House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in an interview published Sunday that President Trump could still be impeached even if special counsel Robert Mueller does not indict him in his Russia investigation.
“Recognize one point. What Mueller might not think is indictable could be impeachable,” Pelosi told The Atlantic.
Pelosi said, however, that she wants to see irrefutable evidence so that Republicans would join any impeachment effort.
{mosads}Some Democrats, notably top donor Tom Steyer, have argued that Trump has already committed impeachable acts.
“What you have is a president who has declared war on the Constitution publicly this week. If that’s not obstruction of justice, what is obstruction of justice?” Steyer told The Atlantic regarding Pelosi’s comments.
He added that he has a deep respect for Pelosi, but commented: “My blood just popped out the top out of my head.”
The president has come under fire for appointing Matt Whitaker to replace Attorney General Jeff Sessions.
Whitaker previously criticized the Mueller probe, which he will oversee as acting attorney general.
Pelosi in a separate interview with CBS News’s Margaret Brennan attacked Whitaker’s appointment.
“It does violence to the Constitution and the vision of our founders to appoint such a person in such a manner to be the chief legal officer in our country. And that’s bipartisan,” Pelosi said.
A poll released last week showed voters are split on whether House Democrats should immediately begin impeachment proceedings against Trump.
The American Barometer survey, conducted by Hill.TV and the HarrisX polling company, found that 40 percent of registered voters polled said House Democrats should begin impeachment proceedings, while 41 percent said Democrats in the chamber should not begin the process.