Senator Tom Udall
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives has no choice but to open an impeachment inquiry into the president of the United States. I have not arrived at this conclusion lightly. The House must initiate this process now, to uncover the facts about reported abuses of power and corruption that the president continues to block from public and congressional view. In the face of the White House’s ongoing obstruction of traditional congressional oversight, there are simply no other options.
The president has repeatedly displayed that he has little regard for the rule of law in this country, and his disregard appears to be getting worse. The president has all but admitted that he used the powers of the presidency to try to pressure another foreign government to again interfere in our democracy, against one of the president’s political rivals. And the White House and attorney general are subverting the law by preventing the whistleblower’s urgent and credible complaint from being transmitted to Congress.
These latest reports are among the most clear and disturbing, but they are not the only topics for such an inquiry. The president has also profited from foreign and special interest patronage of his businesses, without public disclosure or congressional approval, a practice forbidden by the Constitution’s emoluments clause designed to prevent presidential bribery. And he has reportedly directed his subordinates to ignore or disobey the law on various occasions, contrary to the Constitution’s requirement that the president ‘shall take care that the laws be faithfully executed.’
As a coequal branch of government, Congress must be empowered to gather all of the facts into the highly disturbing and dangerous allegations of presidential misconduct. New Mexicans expect their Congress to work for them – and they expect accountability from their elected officials. Our democracy is being tested, and this process is the only path forward left for the House to uphold its constitutional obligations.
U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.).
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