Rep. Steve Cohen, other Democrats file articles of impeachment against President Trump

WASHINGTON – Rep. Steve Cohen of Memphis and five other House Democrats filed articles of impeachment Wednesday against President Donald Trump, warning that his actions have become “a danger to democracy.”

“The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this president that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment,” said Cohen, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution and Civil Justice.

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The five articles of impeachment accuse Trump of obstruction of justice, violating the Constitution’s emoluments clause against taking gifts from foreign leaders without congressional approval and undermining the independence of the federal judiciary and the freedom of the press.

“It’s time for Congress to take action to stop this reckless and harmful behavior by removing Mr. Trump from office and to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States,” Cohen said.

Cohen called for the House Judiciary Committee to immediately begin holding hearings on the charges but acknowledged that impeachment is unlikely to gain much traction in the Republican-controlled Congress. Democrats pushing for impeachment are prepared to hold briefings on the charges if the GOP refuses, he said.

Impeachment is a divisive issue even among Democrats, who fear it could backfire by firing up Republican voters in next year’s midterm elections. Cohen acknowledged that even House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi is not on board with his decision to file articles of impeachment.

Regardless, Cohen said he doesn’t think pressing for impeachment will hurt Democrats in 2018. “In fact, I think it will help the Democrats,” he said.

The Republican National Committee slammed the House Democrats for pressing for impeachment.

“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,” spokesman Michael Ahrens said. “Republicans are focused on issues the middle class actually cares about, like cutting taxes and growing the economy.”

The charges mark the second time in the past month that a House Democrat has offered impeachment articles against Trump.

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, introduced articles of impeachment in October but later withdrew the resolution saying he wanted to give his colleagues and voters time to consider them. He is one of the six sponsors of the new impeachment articles filed Wednesday.

The other four sponsors are Reps. Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Adriano Espaillat of New York and John Yarmuth of Kentucky.

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Cohen announced back in August that he would file impeachment charges over Trump’s comments about white supremacist protests in Charlottesville, Va.

At the time, Trump was facing a political firestorm for doubling down on his claims that "both sides" were at fault for the violence in Charlottesville, even after one alleged white nationalist was charged with murder after ramming his car into a crowd of protesters, killing a 32-year-old Heather Heyer.

Cohen said Trump “failed the test of moral leadership” for refusing to condemn “hate, intolerance and bigotry.”

The impeachment articles filed Wednesday accuse Trump of attempting to obstruct an investigation into Russia’s interference in last year’s presidential election, most notably by firing FBI Director James Comey.

The charges also contend that he has violated the Constitution by receiving thousands of dollars in business funds from foreign governments that have hosted events at Trump-owned properties. In addition, they say he has undermined the federal judiciary by mocking a “so-called judge” and undermined freedom of the press with repeatedly calling news organizations “fake news.”

Given those misdeeds, impeachment should be viewed as “an act of patriotism,” Green said.

For impeachment to proceed, the House Judiciary Committee would have to consider the charges and then decide to send them to the full House for a vote. If a majority of the House votes for one of the charges, the president is impeached, which is essentially an indictment. The Senate then would hold a trial and decide whether the president should be removed from office.