I wrote my Representative the other day about his position on Impeachment, and I thought I should share his response:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the possible impeachment of President Trump. I appreciate your views on this critical issue and welcome the opportunity to share my thoughts on this question.
Like you, I have deep concerns about the conduct of President Trump, and many of those around him in his campaign and his administration, both leading up to the 2016 election and after he took office. I strongly support the full exercise of Congress's constitutional power - and I would argue its constitutional duty - to thoroughly investigate the broad range of allegations regarding foreign interference in our elections, improprieties in the president's finances, and the decisions and actions he has taken while in office. For example, I am a co-plaintiff in the emoluments lawsuit brought by Members of Congress against President Trump, and I support every action brought in court to compel compliance with House subpoenas for financial records and IRS tax returns.Regarding the Mueller report - which I have read from cover to cover - Congress has plenty more work to do to flesh out in public its findings of Russian interference in the 2016 election and obstruction of justice.
Regarding the latter, Mueller's statement on May 2019 that if his office "had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so," is a clarion call for Congress to exercise its oversight role. While Mueller may have been limited as an employee of the Justice Department in his ability to draw clear conclusions against a sitting president, Congress has no such limitations. Right now, six committees in the House - including the Judiciary, Financial Services, and Intelligence Committees - are conducting in-depth investigations into a broad slate of questions raised in Mueller's report, as well as other critical matters beyond the report. While President Trump's administration, as well as his personal attorneys, are attempting to block these investigations at every turn, the law - based on the constitution - remains firmly on our side as a coequal branch of government.
Former special counsel Mueller testified before the House Judiciary Committee, and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence on July 24, 2019, and reinforced many of the redacted conclusions in his report. For example, he reiterated that the president was not exonerated and that there are legitimate lines of investigation that the House has a duty to continue to pursue aggressively. To that end, just two days later, the House Judiciary Committee brought a legal action in the US District Court of the District of Columbia to enforce congressional subpoenas to provide grand jury testimony from Mueller's investigation, citing the House's role in ensuring oversight and accountability over the president and the executive branch. That filing states that "because Department of Justice policies will not allow prosecution of a sitting president, the United States House of Representatives is the only institution of the federal government that can now hold President Trump accountable for these actions...to do so, the House must have access to all the relevant facts and consider whether to exercise its full Article I powers, including a constitutional power of the utmost gravity — approval of articles of impeachment."
This action clearly demonstrates that the House Judiciary Committee is aggressively following up on the Mueller report, and not ruling out impeachment proceedings by any stretch. I fully support Chairman Nadler's legal efforts and the rationale he put forth to the court. Also, Robert Mueller made it crystal clear that Russian interference is still an imminent threat to the 2020 elections that Congress should act swiftly to counter. As you may know, the House voted on a robust election protection bill to protect our voting system which passed in June. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell so far has refused even to acknowledge any need for the Senate to act - which is the height of irresponsibility.
On August 2, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi released an updated summary of the status of the various lines of investigation, oversight and accountability related to President Trump.
Click here to view that report.
I support allowing these committees to continue utilizing all of the tools available to Congress to delve into the issues raised in the Mueller report, his subsequent testimony, and other investigations. As a former attorney, I recognize how critical it is to gather as much evidence as possible before pursuing any course of action. These investigations, and whatever evidence they uncover, will guide what comes next, so it is essential that these committees have the chance to continue their work and collect the facts, testimony, and evidence needed. I am firmly committed to taking this process one step at a time to methodically uncover the facts, to inform the American public, and build the case for any actions that may be needed to ensure accountability wherever it is required.
Thank you for contacting me about this topic, and I hope you do not hesitate to make your views known to me in the future on this and other issues. Also, given the fast-moving nature of these issues, you can follow me on Twitter (
twitter.com/repjoecourtney) or Facebook (
facebook.com/joecourtney) to receive the most timely information about my work in Congress on these and other topics.
