A former Republican congressman who served for nearly two decades in the House slammed President Trump Donald John TrumpBiden on Trump's refusal to commit to peaceful transfer of power: 'What country are we in?' Romney: 'Unthinkable and unacceptable' to not commit to peaceful transition of power Two Louisville police officers shot amid Breonna Taylor grand jury protests MORE on Friday as an "illegitimate president" and called for his impeachment.

"I'm calling for impeachment now because the Mueller report is out, and in it [special counsel Robert Mueller Robert (Bob) MuellerCNN's Toobin warns McCabe is in 'perilous condition' with emboldened Trump CNN anchor rips Trump over Stone while evoking Clinton-Lynch tarmac meeting The Hill's 12:30 Report: New Hampshire fallout MORE] describes 10 obstructions of justice charges that he could not bring because of a Department of Justice rule and regulation that says you can't indict a sitting president. That's number one," former Rep. Tom Coleman (R-Mo.) told CNN’s Erin Burnett.

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The longtime GOP lawmaker, who left the House in 1993, said his other reason for calling for the president to be removed was because Trump "welcomed help and influence" from Russians during his campaign.

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Coleman pointed to how Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort Paul John ManafortOur Constitution is under attack by Attorney General William Barr Bannon trial date set in alleged border wall scam Conspicuous by their absence from the Republican Convention MORE met with a Russian associate, Konstantin KilimnikKonstantin KilimnikPutin is no ordinary threat to America The Hill's Morning Report - Jill Biden urges country to embrace her husband Five takeaways from final Senate Intel Russia report MORE, in New York in August 2016 and discussed the campaign’s strategy for winning Democratic votes in Midwestern states.

"It's wrong, and it needs to be handled and looked at by the Congress because I believe it's an impeachable offense," Coleman concluded.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiHoyer: House should vote on COVID-19 aid — with or without a bipartisan deal Ruth Bader Ginsburg lies in repose at Supreme Court McCarthy threatens motion to oust Pelosi if she moves forward with impeachment MORE (D-Calif.) has clashed with Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler Jerrold (Jerry) Lewis NadlerDemocrats shoot down talk of expanding Supreme Court Schumer: 'Nothing is off the table' if GOP moves forward with Ginsburg replacement Top Democrats call for DOJ watchdog to probe Barr over possible 2020 election influence MORE (D-N.Y.) this week over calls for Trump’s impeachment, which Pelosi has resisted.

Coleman said that the Constitution’s “high crimes and misdemeanors” clauses defining impeachable misconduct by a president is often interpreted as too narrow.

“I think there is some confusion that it has to be a crime to be impeachable,” he explained. “You know, abuse of power, lying to the American people were two grounds for Nixon’s articles of impeachment before he resigned. ... It’s not a crime to the lie to the American people, but if you do it every day 10 or 20 or 50 times, then you’re getting into the area where you should be impeached.”

"I think there is some confusion that it has to be a crime to be impeachable. Abuse of power, lying to the American people were two grounds for Nixon's articles of impeachment before he resigned." - Tom Coleman, a former Republican lawmaker calling for Pres. Trump's impeachment pic.twitter.com/FGAwDxdkft — CNN (@CNN) May 25, 2019

Coleman first made the case for impeachment in a Wednesday op-ed for The Kansas City Star.

Another Republican, Rep. Justin Amash Justin AmashInternal Democratic poll shows tight race in contest to replace Amash Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill On The Trail: How Nancy Pelosi could improbably become president MORE (Mich.), tripled down on his calls for Trump’s impeachment this week, citing some “inherently corrupt” actions noted in the Mueller report.

The report following the nearly two-year investigation found that Russia sought to help Trump win in the 2016 presidential election but that the Trump campaign did not directly assist in that process.

Mueller, however, noted that the Trump campaign "expected it would benefit electorally from information stolen and released through Russian efforts."