Dems to file new impeachment articles against Trump

A group of Democrats will file new articles of impeachment against President Trump before Thanksgiving, according to Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), who’s leading the charge.

“It is clear to us that he is unfit to be president of the United States of America,” Gutiérrez said Wednesday.

Gutiérrez, one of Trump’s sharpest critics, declined to specify what grounds the articles will cite, saying only that the Democrats are working with constitutional scholars to solidify their case.

“I assure you we will not leave you lacking for reason,” he said.

It’s also unclear which Democrats will join Gutiérrez in the effort, though an aide named Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) as one such lawmaker. Cohen in August announced his intent to introduce impeachment articles, citing Trump’s defense of the white nationalists who participated in deadly protest marches in Charlottesville, Va., that month.

Cohen’s office declined to comment Wednesday.

Democratic leaders have sought throughout the year to discourage impeachment efforts against Trump, fearing it could politicize the ongoing investigations into Russian hacking of the 2016 election and potential collusion between Moscow and the Trump campaign. Behind House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), top Democrats are awaiting the outcome of those probes, particularly the one being conducted by Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor appointed by the Justice Department in May.

But Gutiérrez said the time to wait is over. And the indictments against several former Trump campaign figures, announced by Mueller’s team on Monday, have only fueled the effort, Gutierrez said.

“There is increased interest,” he said.

Two other Democrats — Reps. Brad Sherman (Calif.) and Al Green (Texas) — have already introduced articles of impeachment targeting Trump. Last month, Green stopped just short of forcing a vote on the issue, but he’s suggesting a future vote is inevitable. Congress’s impeachment powers were “drawn for a time such as this and a president such as Mr. Trump,” he said Tuesday during an interview in his Capitol Hill office.

“I’m in no rush to be first, but I will say this: We have to — we have to bring it to the floor,” Green said.

Green acknowledged that some Democrats might be agitated by the aggressive impeachment push while the Mueller investigation continues. But he’s growing impatient, warning that “history won’t be kind” to those lawmakers who sit idle amid the swirl of controversies surrounding Trump.

“I can’t let my record show this,” Green said. “The people who will probably judge us, probably haven’t been born.”

Gutiérrez seems to agree, and he’s glad to have a growing coalition to help him make the case.

“I appreciate what single members have done,” Gutiérrez said. “I think it’s time to do a group.”