Maxine Waters: Failure to Impeach Trump Will ‘Imperil Nation’

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) on Thursday evening said failing to impeach President Donald Trump after the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report would set a dangerous precedent” and even “imperil the nation.”

Waters, one of the most prominent and dogged impeachment advocates in Congress who has vowed since Trump took office to do everything in her power to oust him, said in a statement that Mueller’s report “describes Trump’s repeated efforts to fire Mueller, remove former Attorney General Jeff Sessions, and even tamper with witnesses by dangling pardons.”

“I am very troubled by what has already been revealed by the report,” Waters said, saying Mueller’s report “outlines ten instances during which Trump may have obstructed justice but left it to Congress to follow up on those investigations and legal conclusions.” “At this point, Congress’ failure to impeach is complacency in the face of the erosion of our democracy and constitutional norms. Congress’ failure to impeach would set a dangerous precedent and imperil the nation as it would vest too much power in the Executive Branch and embolden future officeholders to further debase the U.S. presidency, if that’s even possible.”

Waters also called for Attorney General William Barr to be removed, saying she was “utterly disgusted, but not surprised,” by “Barr’s shameful performance” in which he “was clearly acting for an audience of one: his puppet master, Donald Trump.”

“The fix was in when Barr was confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. This was a spin job by an Attorney General acting as a sycophant to the President rather than carrying out his duties as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer,” Waters said. “Barr today again misrepresented Mueller’s findings and manufactured conclusions that were not reflected in the full report. I never had any confidence in Barr, but two things are clear after his press conference: Mueller must testify before Congress and Barr must be cast out of government along with this President and his accomplices.”

Waters said Barr is “complicit” and accused the attorney general of being “eager to excuse this President of his deeds regardless of what the facts may be.”

“Barr is shielding him from transparency, insulating him from accountability, and protecting him from the consequences of his conduct,” Waters continued. “The report reveals that Barr has distorted the facts and lied for the President, which makes him complicit.”