Six House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, contending that the president violated the Constitution.
Reps. Steve Cohen (D-TN), Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Al Green (D-TX), Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), Marcia Fudge (D-OH), and John Yarmuth (D-KY) argued that their five articles of impeachment arose out of concern for America’s national security.
Rep. Cohen said at a press conference, “We believe that President Trump has violated the Constitution, and we’ve introduced five articles of impeachment.”
The five Democrats contend that President Trump violated the Constitution by firing Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Director James Comey, that he violated the Emoluments Clause, which bars public officials from accepting gifts from foreign governments, and “undermining” the judiciary and freedom of the press.
Republicans chided initiatives to impeach the president, calling the move a “baseless radical effort.”
Republican National Committee (RNC) spokesman Michael Ahrens said in a statement, “House Democrats lack a positive message and are completely unwilling to work across the aisle, so instead they’ve decided to support a baseless radical effort that the vast majority of Americans disagree with.”
Ahrens added, “Republicans are focused on issues the middle class actually cares about, like cutting taxes and growing the economy”: