The majority of House Judiciary Committee Democrats now say they back launching impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump after Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) announced his support for the move on Thursday, a review of public statements by Politico shows.
Earlier today, Swalwell, who launched a longshot bid for the White House in April, became the House Judiciary panel’s 13th Democrat to support Congress opening an inquiry to oust the president. The California Democrat said he arrived at the decision following an interview in which President Trump told ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos in a Wednesday interview that he would consider accepting opposition research on his 2020 rivals rather than notify the FBI, saying, “I think maybe you do both.”
Swalwell tweeted in response to the president’s comments: “Congress has no choice: we must begin an impeachment inquiry against @realDonaldTrump. He has invited the Russians to again sabotage our elections. And he has obstructed (& obstructs) justice. Time to be held accountable. Our democracy is worth saving.”
As Politico notes, with 13 of the committee’s 24 members now supporting proceedings, chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) would have the power to get the impeachment ball rolling. “It’s a significant milestone for the committee because it has the power to open and lead impeachment proceedings, and its members have been in the vanguard of Congress’ growing confrontation with the White House over access to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s evidence,” the news outlet pointed out.