President Donald Trump may be leaving Democrats with no other choice but to begin impeachment proceedings if he continues to hinder congressional oversight of his office and actions, Rep. Dan Kildee, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Tuesday.
"Unless the president significantly changes course and becomes more transparent and is willing to cooperate and allow us to provide just the bare essential oversight on this administration, I don't think he's leaving us any choice," the Michigan Democrat told CNN's "New Day."
He added that lawmakers can't ignore statements in special counsel Robert Mueller's report that "there are serious instances where the president essentially directed people to break the law, and that's hard to turn away from," he added.
Kildee said the number of Democrats who believe there is no choice except for impeachment is growing, but lawmakers must "tread lightly" on that decision.
He said he's not quite at the point of agreeing to launch impeachment proceedings, but he is "much closer to it" because he doesn't see "another path unless somehow something changes rather dramatically, and I put that fully at the doorstep of the president."
"I swore an oath to the Constitution," he said. "I've read the Mueller report. I've seen what he's (Trump's) done to try to block our use of our constitutional tools to provide a check on the president. I can't ignore my oath and I can't ignore the fact this president is trampling over the law. If we go there, it's because the president is behaving in a way that doesn't leave us a choice."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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