This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

There were fresh calls on Wednesday from Democratic presidential candidates for Donald Trump’s impeachment after Robert Mueller’s statement on his investigation.

Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey for the first time fully threw his support behind impeachment proceedings after hearing Mueller say his investigation did not clear Trump of committing a crime.

Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) Robert Mueller’s statement makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately.

“Robert Mueller’s statement makes it clear: Congress has a legal and moral obligation to begin impeachment proceedings immediately,” Booker, who has previously been cautious, said on Twitter. “This Administration has continued to stonewall Congress’s oversight. Beginning impeachment proceedings is the only path forward.”

Other 2020 presidential candidates also responded to Mueller’s statement by pushing for impeachment. Some had already publicly supported impeachment, but ratcheted up their calls on Wednesday.

Mueller says Trump was not exonerated by his investigation Read more

“Mueller leaves no doubt: 1) He didn’t exonerate the president because there is evidence he committed crimes. 2) Justice Department policy prevented him from charging the president with any crimes. 3) The Constitution leaves it up to Congress to act – and that’s impeachment,” tweeted Senator Elizabeth Warren, who was the first major candidate to support impeachment after Mueller’s report was released last month.

The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, has resisted calls to begin impeachment proceedings, saying that Trump is not worth it and the move would be too divisive. While the Democratic-controlled House could vote to impeach Trump, it is unlikely that the Republican-controlled Senate would ever remove him from office. Still, Pelosi has faced increasing pressure from some members of her caucus who back impeachment.

House Democratic leaders have so far chosen to pursue additional investigations of the Trump administration, but the White House has refused to cooperate, leading Pelosi to say Trump is trying to goad her into impeachment.

Senator Kamala Harris of California also seized upon Mueller’s statement to push impeachment. “What Robert Mueller basically did was return an impeachment referral. Now it is up to Congress to hold this president accountable,” she said in a tweet. “We need to start impeachment proceedings. It’s our constitutional obligation.”

Mueller’s carefully worded statement on Wednesday was read by some as a message to Congress that it was up to them to act.

'We were guided by principles of fairness': Mueller's statement in full Read more

The special counsel noted that the justice department’s policy states that a sitting president may not be charged with a crime. “The opinion says that the constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing,” he said.

The former housing secretary Julián Castro said Mueller “made clear this morning that his investigation now lies at the feet of Congress. No one is above the law – Congress should begin an impeachment inquiry.”

The Massachusetts reprepresentative Seth Moulton tweeted: “Mueller did his job. Now it’s time to do ours. Impeachment hearings should begin tomorrow.”

The former Texas representative and also now a 2020 candidate for the Democratic party nomination, Beto O’Rourke, added there “must be consequences, accountability and justice” and the “only way to ensure that is to begin impeachment proceedings”.