The firing of F.B.I. Director James Comey is still reverberating the walls of Washington, DC. Democrats believe this is a prime opening to attack the administration on the grounds that Comey was fired because he was getting too close to Trump in the Russia investigation. Republicans are scoffing at that notion (well, most of them) and continue to defend their president.
However, at least one Democrat says the threat of impeachment should stand as a deterrent for Trump to follow the law:
Democratic leaders aren’t calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
But they’re getting closer.
To one Democratic congressman, the president’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey reminded him of the “doomsday clock,” a symbol that warns about the likelihood of nuclear war.
“We should maybe have an impeachment clock,” Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., said on Wednesday. “And if we did, I think yesterday moved us about an hour closer to having that need.”
Pocan said he had thought Democrats in the House of Representatives needed to use the threat of impeachment as a “tool” to make the administration follow the law.
“I would argue this has got to still be on the table as an option, especially if, indeed, there was obstruction of justice by the firing of the FBI director,” said Pocan, first vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Of course, impeachment would require that Democrats regain control of the House in 2018, which is not outside the realm of possibility. Even still, they’d need enough votes to actually bring impeachment proceedings which could be tough.
The big question here is what the actual impeachment would be based on. So far, there is no conclusive wrongdoing, only speculation on the part of Democrats that Trump fired Comey to stifle the probe into Russian election meddling. Comey himself, however, penned a letter to staff saying it was well within the President’s power to hire or fire a FBI Director at any time and for basically any cause.
For now, impeachment remains a hollow threat from the party out of power.
