Report: White House Legal Team Researching Impeachment
- 7 years ago
Members of the White House legal team are reportedly researching impeachment proceedings in the event that they are brought against President Trump in the future.
Members of the White House legal team are reportedly researching impeachment proceedings in the event that they are brought against President Trump in the future.
CNN is reporting, based on inside sources, “lawyers in the White House counsel's office have consulted experts in impeachment during the past week and have begun collecting information on how such proceedings would work.”
It goes on to say, “The legal discussions are part of a broader internal effort to bolster the president's legal defense, which has become more complicated with the Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel to pursue the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.”
There has been increasing chatter about impeaching Trump in the recent days, particularly since the president fired FBI Director James Comey over Russia, raising questions about possible obstruction of justice, notes Slate. Critics have also argued that the president may have violated the emoluments clause.
However, most concede that the current likelihood of ousting Trump from office is still relatively low.
As CNN notes, "White House officials believe the President has the backing of Republican allies in Congress and that impeachment is not in the cards, according to the people briefed on the legal discussions."
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have a mixed response; while California Representative Maxine Waters has long called for Trump to be removed, ranking House Intelligence Committee member Adam Schiff has said, “No one ought to, in my view, rush to embrace the most extraordinary remedy that involves the removal of the president from office.”
Members of the White House legal team are reportedly researching impeachment proceedings in the event that they are brought against President Trump in the future.
CNN is reporting, based on inside sources, “lawyers in the White House counsel's office have consulted experts in impeachment during the past week and have begun collecting information on how such proceedings would work.”
It goes on to say, “The legal discussions are part of a broader internal effort to bolster the president's legal defense, which has become more complicated with the Justice Department's appointment of a special counsel to pursue the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.”
There has been increasing chatter about impeaching Trump in the recent days, particularly since the president fired FBI Director James Comey over Russia, raising questions about possible obstruction of justice, notes Slate. Critics have also argued that the president may have violated the emoluments clause.
However, most concede that the current likelihood of ousting Trump from office is still relatively low.
As CNN notes, "White House officials believe the President has the backing of Republican allies in Congress and that impeachment is not in the cards, according to the people briefed on the legal discussions."
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have a mixed response; while California Representative Maxine Waters has long called for Trump to be removed, ranking House Intelligence Committee member Adam Schiff has said, “No one ought to, in my view, rush to embrace the most extraordinary remedy that involves the removal of the president from office.”