U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz for the first time Monday called for impeachment proceedings to begin against President Donald Trump, joining a growing chorus of Democrats in Congress who support such action in the wake of allegations that the president tried to pressure the leader of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son.
“The president is breaking statutory and constitutional law every day, and he is abusing his inherent power as president with regularity, enthusiasm, and most troublingly, impunity,” said Schatz in a press release. “He and his legal team argue that a sitting president’s authorities are so vast that they literally transcend the law. They argue that the Congress has a remedy for this criminality and defiance — the impeachment process.
“If that is their view, so be it. On behalf of the people who elected us, we must formalize and accelerate the impeachment process so that Congress, by exercising its responsibility under Article 1 of the Constitution, can provide some measure of accountability.”
Schatz said beginning impeachment proceedings was important so that “no future president of either party believes that it is possible, practicable, or wise to defy the law, Congress’ constitutional role, and the American people.”
U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, Hawaii’s other senator, has been calling for an impeachment inquiry since May. On Monday she reiterated that position in light of concerns about Trump’s dealings with Ukraine and a recent whistleblower complaint said to be related to the matter.
“There is a process to be followed with a whistleblower’s complaint — something @realDonaldTrump doesn’t give a rip about,” Hirono tweeted Monday. “What does he actually care about? Protecting his okole and money. We need to get to the bottom of this. It’s past time to open an impeachment inquiry.”
Trump ordered more than $391 million in aid to Ukraine frozen just days prior to a phone call with the country’s new president, national news outlets have reported. The withholding of funds has buffered concerns that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine’s leader to investigate unsubstantiated allegations that former vice president and top Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden and his son engaged in corrupt activities with the country.
Impeachment proceedings would need to originate in the House of Representatives, where a majority of Democrats have said they support such an inquiry. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has resisted, concerned that it could hurt her party in the approaching 2020 elections. However, the Washington Post reported late Monday that she has been discussing the prospect with top lawmakers, an indication that the extraordinary move of trying to oust the president was looking increasingly likely.
Hawaii’s two members of the House of Representatives, Democrats Ed Case and Tulsi Gabbard, have not called for impeachment proceedings at this time.
“I continue to support Congress’ efforts to fulfill our constitutional obligation of responsible oversight of the executive branch,” Case told the Honolulu Star- Advertiser in a statement Monday. “If these efforts lead to formal impeachment proceedings, or the president further obstructs our duties or refuses to comply with court orders, I have no hesitation in taking that step.”
Case urged the president to release to Congress the full transcript of his conversation with the Ukrainian president, an unredacted report of the whistleblower and the findings of the inspector general who reviewed it.
Gabbard, who is running for president, said in an interview with Fox News early this month that she opposes an impeachment inquiry into Trump and that he should be removed instead by voters in the upcoming election.
It’s “important for us to think about what is in the best interest of the country and the American people, and continuing to pursue impeachment is something that I think will only further tear our country apart,” Gabbard said.
Star-Advertiser reporter Kevin Dayton contributed to this story.
