Dem lawmaker to introduce articles of impeachment against Trump on first day of new Congress

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) intends to introduce articles of impeachment against President Trump on Thursday as the new session of Congress convenes.

The Los Angeles Times reported that Sherman’s measure will accuse Trump of obstruction of justice in the firing of former FBI Director James Comey, among other things.

“There is no reason it shouldn’t be before the Congress,” Sherman told the news outlet. “Every day, Donald Trump shows that leaving the White House would be good for our country.”

{mosads}Sherman said he doesn’t believe that introducing the resolution in the new Congress will cause any issues for his Democratic colleagues, despite party leadership giving indications that they’d prefer to focus on legislating and oversight.

“Every member of the House will have to address [the issue] whether there are formal articles of impeachment pending,” Sherman told the Times.

The California Democrat previously filed articles of impeachment on similar grounds in July 2017 and was among the nearly 60 Democrats who voted in favor of launching impeachment proceedings in December 2017. The measure overwhelmingly failed.

Democrats will retake the House majority on Thursday, giving the party a greater ability to bring impeachment measures to the floor.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who is expected to be elected Speaker on Thursday, has said she does not intend to seek grounds for impeachment unless there is clear evidence and bipartisan consensus on the issue.

Other Democrats have called for special counsel Robert Mueller to finish his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election before pressing impeachment.

President Trump has downplayed concerns about impeachment proceedings in the new Congress, saying in a December interview that he believes the American people “would revolt if that happened.”