Six Democrats in the House of Representatives have introduced articles of impeachment targeting President Donald Trump.
The legislators singled out five of Mr Trump’s actions they say merit impeachment, including his decision to fire FBI director James Comey in May.
They assert that Trump obstructed justice by dismissing the top law enforcement official, who was leading a federal investigation into alleged ties between Russia and the Trump campaign.
Trump has insisted that there was no collusion between his campaign’s advisers and the Kremlin.
“Given the magnitude of the constitutional crisis, there’s no reason for delay,” said Representative Steve Cohen, the sponsor of the resolution. Creating a constitutional crisis would mean the President has disregarded checks on the executive branch.
Joining Cohen in endorsing the articles are Democratic Representatives Luis Gutiérrez, Al Green, Adriano Espaillat, Marcia Fudge and John Yarmuth.
“We believe that President Trump has violated the Constitution, and we’ve introduced five articles of impeachment,” Cohen said at a press conference.
Cohen in August said he intended to introduce impeachment articles against Trump over the President’s response to a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Al Green had introduced impeachment articles of his own last month, asserting on the House floor that Trump’s Charlottesville response, his attack on NFL players who knelt during the national anthem in protest, and his debunked claim that Barack Obama had wire-tapped him, had all undermined the integrity of the Oval Office and “brought disrepute on the presidency”.
The articles introduced on Wednesday accuse Trump of violating the foreign emoluments clause –– which bars public officials from receiving gifts from foreign governments without Congress’s consent – and the domestic emoluments clause, which prohibits the president from profiting from his office.
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