Donald Trump could face impeachment in fairly short order, if incoming House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) is any indication. On Sunday morning’s edition of CNN’s State of the Union, Nadler told host Jake Tapper that the offenses alleged in Michael Cohen‘s sentencing memo would “certainly… be impeachable offenses.”
Tapper recounted the contents of those documents, which show that federal prosecutors believe that Trump directed Cohen to commit felonies by paying off porn star Stormy Daniels and Playboy model Karen McDougal.
“If it’s proven, are those impeachable offenses?”
“Well, they would be impeachable offenses,” Nadler said, but added that “whether they are important enough to justify impeachment is a different question.
“But certainly, they would be impeachable offenses, because even though they were committed before the president became president, they were committed in the service of fraudulently obtaining the office,” he continued.
Throughout the rest of the interview, Nadler was cagey about whether the offenses Tapper described reached the level of “gravity” required to commence impeachment proceedings, but as Tapper noted, the context of Nadler’s comments leave little doubt about the answer.
As to Tapper’s question, “if it’s proven,” the documents make clear that prosecutors have much more than just Cohen’s word. No one knows how much documentary evidence investigators have to bolster Cohen’s testimony,
If eventual Chairman Nadler has his way, Trump may end up being partially correct that the Cohen memo “Totally clears” him… for impeachment.
Watch the clip above, via CNN.
[image via screengrab]