Any discussion of Republicans working to impeach President Barack Obama over any executive action he might take on immigration is "pure politics," Rep. John Fleming told Newsmax on Friday.
"The president is behind that narrative," the three-term GOP congressman from Louisiana said. "There has not been any discussions on the impeachment of this president. Republicans don't want to go there.
"Democrats would love nothing more than to create that discussion, that narrative — to get Republicans to start talking about that and suggesting that and implying it, or even advancing it. They think that they can get their numbers up."
At a breakfast in Washington,
Dan Pfeiffer, one of President Obama's longest-serving advisers, said that the executive actions Obama will approve at the end of the summer to address the border crisis will likely anger from Republicans who have blocked comprehensive immigration legislation.
He said that he could easily see Republicans moving to impeachment proceedings to try to remove Obama from power in retaliation for the immigration orders he is expected to introduce by the end of the summer.
"The president acting on immigration reform will certainly up the likelihood that they would contemplate impeachment," Pfeiffer said. He said it would be "foolish to discount the possibility" that Republicans will at least consider it.
But Fleming told Newsmax that Pfeiffer's comments were "absolute foolishness" and that the president has created the impeachment talk because his party is in danger of losing the Senate in the November elections.
"The Democrats are desperate right now. The president is under water on every issue, including immigration.
"That's the reason why he's desperately ignoring everything that's going on in foreign policy," Fleming said. "He's trying to raise money in a desperate attempt to at least hold onto the Senate, if not take back the House. With every day passing, that looks dimmer and dimmer because there's just not enough money."
Fleming said he expected the White House to revive such past controversies as the birther issue — even the "war on women" — as the elections near.
"I look for just about anything that they think might work in their direction," he told Newsmax. "You can pretty-much expect any kind of trial balloon, up to and including more discussion about impeachment.
"It is not happening in the House. No one is talking about that."
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