Rep. Justin Amash's decision to break ranks with other Republicans and say special counsel Robert Mueller's report outlined impeachable actions by President Donald Trump doesn't mean there's now enough bipartisan support for proceedings against him, Sen. Mazie Hirono said Monday.
"I wouldn't say one person breaking ranks is the bipartisan support we'd like," the Hawaii Democrat told CNN's "New Day." "For the longest time, all of the Republicans except those who have retired have closed ranks. I would like to see more, but we haven't seen it in a long time."
On Sunday, Amash, R-Mich., tweeted that he thinks Attorney General William Barr "deliberately misrepresented" Mueller's findings and that the report reveals Trump "engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment."
Hirono said Monday Amash's comments are significant "only in the sense that he's the first Republican to come out and say he thinks impeachment proceedings should begin," adding her hopes that other Republicans come to a similar conclusion.
She further commented that she thinks Mueller's report lays a "groundwork" for impeachment and that "under normal times," Trump's acts to obstruct Mueller's probe would lead to proceedings.
In addition, formal hearings might give Congress more authority to enforce subpoenas that have been issued.
"The White House is stonewalling the subpoenas to testify," said Hirono. "This is Trump. You know, this is his modus operandi. He would stall, leave people holding the bags, have a lot of delays. There is something like 80 lawsuits going on now. Every time the president makes a decision there is usually a lawsuit. I don't think he cares as long as he gets past the re-election."
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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