2020 Candidates Call for Impeachment in Response to Mueller’s Press Conference

Even a Republican lawmaker suggested it was time for Congress to act.

Ting Shen/Zuma

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In a Wednesday morning press conference, special counsel Robert Mueller reiterated that his team had found insufficient evidence to accuse President Donald Trump of conspiring with Russia to influence the outcome of the election, but he did not rule out the possibility that the president had obstructed justice.

“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller said. “We did not, however, make a determination as to whether the president committed a crime.”

Mueller’s first public statement since the release of the report on his investigation highlighted the legal limits of the actions Mueller could take against the president.

“The Constitution requires a process other than the criminal justice system to formally accuse a sitting president of wrongdoing,” Mueller said. Many lawmakers took this statement as a suggestion for impeachment.

Justin Amash, a Republican representative from Michigan who has been outspoken against Trump, tweeted a call to action for his colleagues.

Jerry Nadler, a Democratic representative from New York, also called on Congress to respond to Mueller’s investigation.

Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren was more direct, calling Mueller’s statement an “impeachment referral.”

She also tweeted a video of herself reading from the Mueller report on the US Senate floor.

Fellow 2020 candidate Kamala Harris used similar language on Twitter.

And Cory Booker called impeachment Congress’ “legal and moral obligation.”

Trump, however, seemed to take Mueller’s statement of “insufficient evidence” as an exoneration.

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BEFORE YOU CLICK AWAY!

“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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