Rep. Justin Amash (R) became the first Republican in Congress to call for the impeachment of President Donald Trump over the contents of the Mueller report. After being rebuked by his fellow Republicans for doing so, Amash doubled down, and this time he is taking his argument to America’s children.
While speaking to students on the steps on Capitol Hill, Rep. Amash said that Trump’s lies are dangerous. CBS News reporter Bo Erickson tweeted:
Wow: @justinamash is NOT backing down. He is now talking to a school group on steps of the Capitol about why Trump impeachment proceedings should begin. “Really dangerous for our country” when ppl don’t tell the truth pic.twitter.com/JYhKMtjhuk
— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) May 21, 2019
Amash started a firestorm when he tweeted a lengthy thread saying he had read the Mueller report and concluded that Donald Trump had done enough to warrant impeachment. For reference, here is the link to that thread:
Few members of Congress even read Mueller’s report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation—and it showed, with representatives and senators from both parties issuing definitive statements on the 448-page report’s conclusions within just hours of its release.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
Of course, the Republican Party is not backing down. Senator Mitt Romney (R-Utah) went on a Sunday show and said that Amash’s pronouncements on Twitter were “courageous” but declined to join in the Congressman’s conclusions. Other GOP elected representatives have outright denounced Amash’s impeachment language. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said:
“This is exactly what he wants, he wants to have attention.”
Rep. McCarthy has also said that Rep. Amash is more aligned with the political motives of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) than he is with House Republicans. Determined to power on, Rep. Amash once again took his fight to Twitter on Monday morning:
People who say there were no underlying crimes and therefore the president could not have intended to illegally obstruct the investigation—and therefore cannot be impeached—are resting their argument on several falsehoods:
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 20, 2019
The thing is, Justin Amash is a more Libertarian leaning member of the Republican party. He is now facing a primary challenge from Trump-supporting Michigan statehouse Representative Jim Lower. That could be a battle, but Amash seems to be standing his ground on principle.
This is all very new territory, and whether or not Rep. Amash will back-peddle and fall in line with his party is up in the air. However, it seems unlikely at this point in time.