Thursday, September 26, 2019

Most AAPI lawmakers endorse call for impeachment inquiry against Trump

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi called for an impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.

Asian American lawmakers had varying reactions to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's announcement that the House would be moving forward with an official impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.

"The president must be held accountable. No one is above the law," said Pelosi Tuesday (Sept. 24).

The California lawmaker said the House will move forward with an official impeachment inquiry against Trump over a whistleblower complaint and the his alleged push to get Ukraine to investigate a political opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden's son. The allegations against Hunter Biden were found false and without merit.

Trump maintains he's done nothing wrong, tweeting that the inquiry was the latest episode in what he's called "a total witch hunt." AAPI legislators endorsed Pelosi's action.

"I commend Speaker Pelosi for launching an official impeachment inquiry across six committees," said Congressman Ted Lieu, a member of the judiciary committee that investigates Trump. "This whistleblower complaint is a big deal."

The impeachment inquiry stems from a whistleblower complaint alleging Trump sought help in digging up dirt on his political rival, Vice President Joe Biden, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a phone call between the two last summer.

Lieu said Congress needs to see the full complaint as soon as possible.

Trump maintains he's done nothing wrong, tweeting that the inquiry was the latest episode in what he's called "a total witch hunt," said Lieu.

“From Day 1 of his presidency, Donald Trump has been motivated by two things: protecting himself and making money. Speaker Pelosi is right to hold this dangerous chief executive accountable,” stated Hawaii's Sen. Mazie Hirono, who first called for Trump's impeachment the day after the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller earlier this year.



Rep. Judy Chu, chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, tweeted: 


Virginia's Rep. Bobby Scott, who is of Filipino descent, issued a lengthy statement, that reads in part:
“Unfortunately, after the Mueller report found multiple instances of obstruction of justice committed by the President, after the President has continued to profit from foreign business transactions in violation of the Emoluments Clause, and after failing to sanction violations of the Hatch Act, recent events cannot be ignored. The President has now admitted to sacrificing national security for his own political gain and then violating the law by refusing to provide to Congress the whistleblower complaint submitted to the Intelligence Community Inspector General. That is just the latest example of this president violating the law and constitutional norms, and this violation undermines our national security. 
“Every Member of Congress swore an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. I therefore support Speaker Pelosi’s call for a formal impeachment inquiry. It is the only appropriate course of action given the severity of recent events. Additionally, the Trump Administration must make the entire whistleblower complaint available to Congress immediately so we can consider its contents along with the evidence of other impeachable offenses that the president has committed.”

Filipino American Congressman TJ Cox of California's Central Valley endorsed the Pelosi action in a series of tweets.


"More and more people are coming onboard," Ro Khanna, who represents California's 17th congressional district, said during an interview with CNN's S.E. Cupp on Saturday evening. "And I think this incident with Ukraine may be the straw that breaks the camel's back," he suggested.

"I am ready to vote on impeachment," Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-WA, said, adding that there are a few committees still putting some "remaining pieces" together. "But what we're seeing now is incredibly serious, incredibly grave." 


Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY, and vice chair of the DNC tweeted:


Sen. Kamala Harris, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for President, has long called for impeachment proceedings against Trump.

"I strongly believe that it is long past due that we begin impeachment proceedings against this President," Harris said. "He's pressured a foreign leader, the Ukraine President, to dig up dirt on a political opponent, in the 2020 presidential election. He urged a foreign country to attack our democracy in the 2016 presidential election. He gave classified information to Russian officials in May of 2017."



Andrew Yang, who was not in favor of impeaching Trump until the Ukraine matter came to light, changed his mind Tuesday.


Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), the third Asian American running for POTUS, was one of the few Democrats who didn't support Pelosi's decision to proceed with the impeachment process. said Wednesday (Sept. 25) that the partial transcript of President Trump's call with Ukraine’s president released by the Trump administration doesn’t show a “compelling” case for impeachment.

“Most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president that won an election in 2016,” the Democratic presidential candidate told Hill.TV.

The Hawaii representative maintained that impeachment will only deepen the “hyperpartisan divides,” and argued that most people will only see it as another politically-motivated move by Democrats to oust Trump.

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