Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) delivered a passionate argument for impeaching President Donald Trump on Wednesday, the day of the president’s expected impeachment.
“No one in America could do what Donald Trump did and get away with it,” Lieu said on Capitol Hill hours before a scheduled House impeachment vote. “No American elected official can call up a foreign government and ask for an investigation of a political opponent. No member of Congress can call up a foreign official and ask for help in a reelection campaign. If we did that, we would likely get indicted.”
Trump was found to have asked Ukraine’s president to investigate Trump’s political rival and former Vice President Joe Biden, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. The U.S. government withheld military aid from Ukraine until Trump’s conversation became public, leading many to believe the president was conditioning the aid on having his demands met.
“The president does not have the right to cheat and solicit foreign interference in our elections,” Lieu said. “That is illegal. It is not what the voters elected him to do, and we will not stand for it.”
Lieu spoke to his fellow lawmakers a week after having a heart procedure. He said Trump’s impeachment will “follow him around for the rest of his life.”
“Impeachment is a form of deterrent,” he said. “Our children are watching. No president ever wants to be impeached, and whether Donald Trump leaves in one year or five years, this impeachment is permanent. It will follow him around for the rest of his life and history books will record it. And people will know why we impeached ― it’s all very simple: No one is above the law.”
Trump, meanwhile, is having a predictable meltdown. In a span of 24 hours, he’s tweeted and retweeted more than 50 times, with his latest an all-caps rant calling his impeachment an “ASSAULT ON AMERICA.”