Erin Burnett to Dem Rep: If Things Are ‘So Dire’, What’s ‘Stopping You’ from Pursuing Impeachment?

CNN’s Erin Burnett had a tough question for the Rep. David Cicilline of the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

She wanted to know why, if the situation was so “dire”, why his committee did not start impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

“The president and the minions cannot stonewall the American people and prevent Congress from doing work and finding the truth, whatever it is,” Cicilline had just told Burnett hours after voting to hold Attorney General William Barr in contempt.

In response Burnett asked this: “When you say this is contempt, second time in history, all of these things, I guess the question at this point is, if it is so dire and you have the power to launch impeachment proceedings, which you do in your committee, what is stopping you if this is so serious?”

Cicilline did not rule out impeachment proceedings sometime in the future, but not yet.

“Look, there is no question and President Nixon’s impeachment, the third article was obstruction of Congress. So there is no question at some point if the president’s effort to stonewall and prevent us from getting information continues, that may form an independent basis for obstruction in an of itself,” Cicilline began, before stressing they have to “collect all the evidence to make a fully informed judgment.”

The congressman continued on: “We got part of the story in the Mueller report that was the beginning of our work. We’re asking for the balance of the report as well as all the supporting materials. The Ken Starr investigation, when Ken Starr was done with the report, he delivered it to Congress with 18 boxes of documents and grand jury proceedings. He went to the court to get permission to release the grand jury before Congress asked for it. That’s the kind of model we should be following here.”

Watch above, via CNN.

[image via screengrab]

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