Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) publicly urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Thursday to bow to the demands of some House Democrats and bring impeachment proceedings against President Trump.
In an interview with CNN, the Tennessee Democrat said it would be the “patriotic” choice, while adding that the president was contributing to the rule of law in the U.S. being “destroyed.”
{mosads}”She says she’s doing this because of patriotism, not politics, and it’s hard to see that,” Cohen said. “Patriotism would say, ‘Jump in to hell for a heavenly cause.’ “
“And the fact is, when you have a Constitution and you have a rule of law, and it’s being destroyed in a reckless, gangster manner, you need to act,” he continued.
“I think the only reason not to act is politics,” Cohen added.
Pelosi has faced increased pressure from House Democrats in recent days to begin impeachment proceedings due to the White House’s refusal to cooperate with Congress on numerous investigations.
At a press conference Thursday, the Speaker argued that taking up articles of impeachment against Trump would play into the president’s hands, asserting that Trump was hoping the battle over impeachment would distract from his administration’s scandals.
“There’s no question: the White House is just crying out for impeachment. That’s why he flipped yesterday, because he was just hoping,” Pelosi said, referring to Trump reportedly storming out of a meeting with congressional Democrats on infrastructure reform.
“He’s a master of distraction. … That’s something he does well; to distract from problems that he has he tries to change the subject,” she added. “And while he tried to say it’s because I said ‘cover-up’ — we’ve been saying ‘cover-up’ for a while.”