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Trump says his actions don’t meet the impeachment threshold of ‘high crimes’

US President Donald Trump speaks during the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on April 22, 2019. (AFP photo)

US President Donald Trump has said that he is not worried about impeachment in the wake of the publication of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report, saying that “only high crimes” can lead to impeachment.

“Not even a little bit,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday when asked about the prospect of being impeached by the US Congress.

A number of Democrats have called for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against Trump, despite warnings some that the effort is likely to be unsuccessful and could divide the country.

Mueller’s two-year investigation failed determine that the Trump campaign collude with Russia during the 2016 election, but it detailed 10 cases of potential obstruction of justice but ultimately did not charge Trump with a crime.

Trump on Monday said his actions did not meet the impeachment threshold of “high crimes and misdemeanors” laid out in the Constitution.

“Only high crimes and misdemeanors can lead to impeachment," Trump tweeted. "There were no crimes by me (No Collusion, No Obstruction), so you can’t impeach. It was the Democrats that committed the crimes, not your Republican President! Tables are finally turning on the Witch Hunt!”

Congressional Democrats have taken a legal step to see all of Mueller’s evidence from his inquiry into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The redacted edition of the much-anticipated 400-page investigation, covering Russia's meddling in the 2016 presidential election, as well as Trump and his team’s wrongdoings and possible presidential obstruction of justice, was released in Mueller's report on Thursday.

"Yesterday I called on the House to begin impeachment proceedings. This is a matter of principle for me," Democratic presidential candidate Senator Elizabeth Warren said on Saturday. 

House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat, issued a subpoena on Friday to the Justice Department to release the full Mueller report, and rejected the redacted version that he said “leaves most of Congress in the dark.”

Nadler said even the redacted version "outlines disturbing evidence" that Trump engaged in misconduct and possibly obstruction of justice.

Nadler said he does not know whether or not Democrats would file articles of impeachment against the Republican president, but added that he would not rule out the impeachment option.

Warren, a leading contender in the 2020 field, has joined the lawmakers — including Congressional Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar — in calling for Trump’s ousting.

Ocasio-Cortez and Omar believe the findings detailed in Mueller’s report contradict Trump’s claims that he has been “totally exonerated” from any criminal wrongdoing.

Ocasio-Cortez has vowed to support impeachment proceedings launched by fellow Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib.

Meanwhile, Omar has said Congress has a “constitutional responsibility” to act.


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