Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) has announced that he is spearheading the first collective effort in Congress to impeach President Donald Trump, and that "before Thanksgiving a group of colleagues and I on the Judiciary Committee are going to file Articles of Impeachment against the President of the United States."
Watch (at 37:00):
Speaking at the City Club of Chicago on Tuesday, Gutiérrez vowed to move forward with articles of impeachment in the coming weeks, Trump's approval rating hit yet another all-time low, and news broke that more than a million people had signed a pro-impeachment petition—part of a broader impeach Trump campaign launched last month by billionaire environmentalist and political donor Tom Steyer.
"We believe he's unfit to be president of the United States, and we believe that he's violated the Constitution such that he should be impeached," Gutierrez said. He declined to say which specific grounds for impeachment the group will cite, but emphasized, "we're going to use a lot of constitutional scholars and really make a case that the president should be impeached."
Although it is unclear which Democrats in the House will join Gutiérrez in the latest impeachment effort, an aide told The Hill that Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)—who previously promised to file impeachment articles after Trump refused to condemn a violent white supremacist rally in Virginia this summer—will likely be involved.
"We appreciate single members putting in on their own articles of impeachment," Gutiérrez added—an apparent reference to Reps. Brad Sherman (D-Calif.) and Al Green (D-Texas), who both introduced articles of impeachment against Trump earlier this year—but, Gutiérrez said, "I think it's time to do a group."
Green, who declined to force a vote on his articles last month, told The Hill on Tuesday that Congress's impeachment powers were "drawn for a time such as this and a president such as Mr. Trump."
Green noted that some Democrats may resist an aggressive push for impeachment while Robert Mueller continues to investigate allegations that the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government to influence the 2016 election, but also said he is growing impatient and warned that "history won't be kind" to those in government who sit back while concerns continue to mount about the Trump presidency.
"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.
"There is increased interest" and urgency, Gutiérrez told The Hill, following news that federal charges have been filed against former Trump aides as part of Mueller's ongoing investigation.
