Associated Press
- Over 100 House Democrats now support launching an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, which represents nearly half of the caucus.
- Support for taking the first step toward impeaching Trump has grown among Democrats since former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony to Congress last Wednesday.
- The Democratic leadership continues to urge caution on heading toward impeachment without more evidence.
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Nearly half of all House Democrats now support an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Since former special counsel Robert Mueller’s testimony last Wednesday, over a dozen Democrats have joined those who have already publicly expressed support for launching an impeachment inquiry, Politico reported.
Four lawmakers joined the ranks of pro-impeachment Democrats on Sunday alone, all of whom are from Washington state: Reps. Denny Heck, Suzan DelBene, Derek Kilmer, Kim Schrier.
The total number of House Democrats who’ve now publicly expressed support for impeachment is 107, which is 11 short of a majority of the Democratic caucus.
But the Democratic leadership is still urging caution on the subject of impeachment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has consistently pumped the brakes on the issue and on Friday refused to offer a timeline. "We will proceed when we have what we need to proceed — not one day sooner," Pelosi said.
Read more: Democrats are moving toward impeaching Trump, despite strong evidence it could hurt them in 2020
Later that day, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler announced the committee had formally asked a federal judge to release grand jury material from Mueller’s investigation into Russian election interference.
Nadler said that "in effect" the committee has been conducting an impeachment inquiry into the president.
"Whether you call that an inquiry, or whatever you want to call that, that’s what we’ve been doing," Nadler told reporters.
But Nadler on Sunday seemed to take a few steps back when he told CNN the committee needs "more evidence" to take the first step toward impeachment, though he also said he believes Trump "richly deserves impeachment."
Meanwhile, Mueller’s testimony has apparently not swayed much of the American public when it comes to impeachment. A new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, conducted right after his testimony, found just 37% back Congress beginning impeachment proceedings against Trump. This is consistent with other polling prior to Mueller’s testimony.
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See Also:
- ‘A f—ing travesty’: Justice Department veterans say the way Mueller’s testimony was handled blew past the ‘historical significance of this moment’
- The creator of the fake presidential seal displayed behind Trump said it was ‘just a goofy thing’ that he never expected to go viral
- Here are the 87 congressional Democrats and 9 additional Democratic presidential candidates who want to begin an impeachment inquiry against Trump
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (John Haltiwanger)