Calls for impeachment of US President Trump grow

Calls are getting louder for the impeachment of US President Donald Trump who remains overwhelmed by controversies, including an ongoing investigation into his team’s alleged links to the Russian government. 

Al Green, a Democratic congressman from Texas, has become the first to call for Trump’s impeachment following revelations that the president had pressured former FBI chief James Comey to drop the investigation into General Mike Flynn, who was Trump’s national security adviser and resigned over undisclosed contacts with a Russian diplomat.

“No one is above the law and that includes the President of the United States of America,” Al Green addressed his fellow representatives on Wednesday in Congress. 

“This offence has occurred before our very eyes. It is perspicuous. It is easy to understand. We are talking about a president who fired the FBI director who was investigating the president for his connections to Russian involvement in the president’s election,” he added.

He said that the impeachment is necessary for liberty and justice for all and “the government of the people, for the people, by the people,” and it is not for political gains. 

Meanwhile, David Gergen, a former adviser to three American presidents, has also expressed disappointment over the revelation, saying if Trump's personal request that the FBI drop its investigation into Flynn is true then he could see the administration already entering "impeachment territory".

“I was in the Nixon administration, as you know, and I thought after watching the Clinton impeachment I’d never see another one,” said Gergen who served under Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton, both of whom had faced the impeachment process during their tenure.

“But I think we’re in impeachment territory now for the first time.”

On Tuesday, the New York Times made the revelation that Trump had urged Comey, in a memo, to drop the investigation, a day after Flynn was forced out of the White House.

Comey's memo, as the report said, was part of a paper trail that he kept to document pressure by Trump over the FBI's Russia investigation.

“I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go,” Trump told Comey, according to the memo. “He is a good guy. I hope you can let this go.”

“I think that obstruction of justice was the number one charge against Nixon that brought him down,” Gergen said in reaction to the memo.“Obstruction of justice was the number one charge against Bill Clinton, which led to his indictment in the House.”

Read More: 

• FBI chief's firing 'end of Trump'
• Outraged lawmakers demand Comey memo

Trump dismissed Comey last week citing his handling of the FBI investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server while at the State Department.

The dismissal sent shock waves through Washington, with critics accusing Trump of trying to thwart the FBI investigation into Russia's alleged interference in the US 2016 presidential election and his possible collusion with the Kremlin.                                      

Also Justin Amash was the first Republican lawmaker to broach the idea of impeachment.

According to reports when he was asked if the details in the memo would merit impeachment if they're true, Amash replied, “Yes.”

“But everybody gets a fair trial in this country,” Amash added as he left a House GOP conference meeting, Wednesday. “I think it's pretty clear I have more confidence in Director Comey,” he added. 

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