House Democrat cites Inquirer editorial in making case for Trump impeachment
During public comments Thursday morning, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a member of the Judiciary Committee who represents the Memphis area, asked to add the Inquirer editorial to the record, along with similar pieces published by USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe.
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An Inquirer editorial calling for President Donald Trump’s impeachment and removal from office became part of the official Congressional record Thursday as a Tennessee Democrat cited it and three others as he and other House members made a case for impeaching the president.
During his public comments Thursday morning, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a member of the Judiciary Committee who represents the Memphis area, asked to add the Inquirer editorial to the record, along with similar pieces published by USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, and the Boston Globe.
The Inquirer editorial board operates separately and independently from the newsroom, offering recommendations, endorsements and opinions that it deems to be in the interests of its readers or the greater region.
Its editorial, published Thursday, argued that by defying congressional subpoenas issued in the impeachment inquiry, “Trump has severely disrespected his office and the document he swore to protect and uphold. Should this process end with a trial and a Senate vote to remove him from office — a prospect that seems highly unlikely — it’s not hard to imagine that he would insist that the process was invalid and refuse to go.
“Such an act of tyranny is what the Constitution was created to protect against," the editorial board wrote. "That is why this impeachment process is urgent and should move forward without delay.”
The House announced formal articles of impeachment against Trump on Tuesday, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in his campaign to pressure Ukraine to announce investigations that would hurt his political rivals. A committee vote that could forward the articles to the full House for consideration was expected as early as Thursday afternoon.
Cohen’s request to add the editorials to the official record drew a quick objection from the Judiciary Committee’s ranking Republican, Doug Collins of Georgia. Collins said he wanted to first read the pieces.
“I’d love for him to read them," Cohen responded, prompting some laughter in the room.