Thursday on “MSNBC Live,” Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reacted to threats of violence against him and the impeachment of now-former President Donald Trump for incitement of insurrection.
Jeffries said the hope is Trump and his supporters, who breached the U.S. Capitol earlier this month are held accountable for their actions. He added that he and his colleagues will not be “cowed” by “the domestic terrorists and the white supremacists” who threaten violence against them.
Anchor Stephanie Ruhle asked, “Are you prepared for what could be on the other side? If the former president is acquitted, what happens if there’s no accountability for him or the rioters? He was the one who said, ‘I could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue.'”
“[P]art of the lesson of the first impeachment trial for him was that he could shoot holes in the Constitution on Pennsylvania Avenue and get away with it because Senate Republicans were prepared to bury their heads in the sand. So, that would be unfortunate, although there are a variety of other investigations, some civil, some criminal, that I believe have the president in their sights. And we’ll see what happens with those investigations,” Jeffries outlined. “But every available option to hold him accountable for his actions should be undertaken. But we’re going to proceed in doing the business of the American people, both in terms of defending our democracy, and building back better under the leadership of Joe Biden, Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer. And we’re not going to be cowed by the domestic terrorists and the white supremacists and the enemy combatants who want to stop us in our tracks. That would be giving in to them, and that’s not going to happen.”
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