Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN) said on Thursday that Democrats do not care about getting the people’s business done and that the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump is a “three-ring circus.”
He also thinks House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has long resisted the call for an impeachment inquiry, is just caving to pressure from the extreme left of her Party, specifically the “squad” consisting of Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI).
“I don’t think anything’s really changed at all, actually,” Burchett said on National Public Radio’s (NPR) All Things Considered. “I’m still opposed to the impeachment inquiry.”
“I think Speaker Pelosi is – I realize she’s got to yield to her very liberal base, and they’re four ladies who have a great deal of control,” Burchett said.
Burchett said that it wouldn’t have been left to a whistleblower if Trump had done something criminal on his phone call with the Ukrainian president that included a reference to former Vice President Joe Biden.
“I think if you just read the transcript of the conversation – I mean, you have to ask yourself why there’s more than a dozen people who had firsthand knowledge of that conversation who were there monitoring it and none of them have come forward to say that there was a problem with it,” Burchett said.
NPR host Audie Cornish implied in her interview with Burchett that Republicans were shifting their view of Trump because of the latest accusation against him but Burchett pointed out that one outspoken Republican is the failed presidential candidate and Trump critic Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).
“Now, many of your Republican colleagues have been talking about their concerns,” Cornish said. “Do you see any shift happening?”
“No, ma’am. I don’t,” Burchett said. “I think that you’re talking about, apparently, an unnamed U.S. senator, but I think he’s just a disgruntled person who ran for president and didn’t…”
“So you’re referring to Senator Mitt Romney,” Cornish said.
“Yes, of course. Yes, ma’am,” Burchett said. “He didn’t get appointed to a position. It’s clearly spoiled milk.”
Cornish asked if Burchett had any questions about Trump’s phone conversation.
“Well, I would like to question Mr. Schiff why he opened up – this is a very serious accusation, and it’s very disrupting to the process because we’re not doing anything,” Burchett said. “We’re not addressing any of the concerns that people have – health care, immigration.”
Burchett said the new charges against Trump are the same as the now-failed Russian collusion charges.
“Nothing has changed,” Burchett said. “It’s – frankly, it’s a three-ring circus.”
“It’s the same committee,” Burchett said. “It’s the same people, ma’am.”
“And it’s the same, and they’re going to draw the same conclusion,” Burchett said. “If there’s – this is not an impeachable offense.”
“The committee that meets is the same committee that’s been meeting since I was first elected, and they have not done one dadgum thing productive out of that committee that they’ve been assigned to do,” Burchett said. “They’ve just been hearing over this and rehashing old things.”
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