In the News

Arkansas delegates criticize Democrats after impeachment inquiry against Trump

KATV
9/24/19

LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched the House into a formal impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Tuesday.

The inquiry centers on claims that Trump abused his presidential powers and sought help from a foreign government for his reelection, actions Pelosi said would mark a "betrayal of his oath of office."

"No one is above the law," Pelosi said.

KATV spoke with Talk Business and Politics' Roby Brock, who further explained what an inquiry actually means.

"This is an impeachment inquiry, at this point, which means they are wanting to do the research necessary to see if they want to bring impeachment charges toward the president," said Brock. "I suspect that they probably will, you typically don't go down this road unless you know that there is kind of an arsenal of evidence there."

Following the White House releasing a call summary between the president and the president of Ukraine, Brock said he suspects this will help buffer the Democrats' argument.

"First of all, he brings up the fact that this whole Joe Biden scandal was buried by a prosecutor in Ukraine and it should be re-looked at," said Brock. "He offers the services of Rudy Giuliani, his personal attorney, and he offers the resources of Attorney General Bill Barr who is the head of the Department of Justice, I have a feeling Democrats are probably going to use that as an example of how President Trump has tried to marshal the resources of U.S. government to dig up dirt on a political foe."

Brock, who covered politics when former President Bill Clinton was impeached added, that while there was the same level of hyper-partisanship in Congress, what is now being alleged is much different.

"President Clinton was charged with obstructing justice and perjury for lying under oath about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and here you have something, I think, larger in terms of the president being accused of abuse of power right now using the levers of government to his political gain in an unfair and unconstitutional way," said Brock.

Members of Arkansas' congressional delegation, all of whom are Republican, criticized Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues in response to the inquiry.

“Despite an unprecedented act of transparency by the president in releasing the transcript of his call with a foreign leader, the Democrats nevertheless plunged headlong into their nonstop obsession with impeachment," U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton said in a written statement. "I only wish they’d get the facts before jumping to a conclusion, while dedicating a fraction of the energy to improving the lives of Arkansans.”

U.S. Sen. John Boozman accused Pelosi of "blatantly partisan tactics."

"Democrats have long sought to weaken the president, appease their base and further divide the country through impeachment," he said, in part, in a written statement. "This latest action demonstrates their willingness to blindly follow this obsession regardless of the facts."

U.S. Rep. French Hill also said that Pelosi moved forward with an inquiry before gathering all the facts. That proves that Democrats "care more about undermining the president than finding the truth," he said, in part, in a written statement.

"Rather than caving the radical elements in her ranks, Speaker Pelosi should focus on issues important to the American people like securing our southwest border and passing [the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement]," the statement says.

U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman said in a written statement that it's unclear what Pelosi's "official" inquiry means.

"There’s no House vote, no select committees, no apparent change from the status quo - we’ve already been embroiled in impeachment inquiries for two years," the statement says. "House Democrats are a solution in search of a problem, and they’re keeping Congress from the business of legislating. If Democrats truly believed the president is in violation of the law, they could start the impeachment process. Instead, all we’ve seen so far are press conferences, political posturing and hasty, uninformed conclusions.”

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford issued a statement saying that Pelosi should end her "charade of impeachment politics" and focus more on national defense and the crisis at the southern border.

“The President has told the American people that he intends to declassify his call to the Ukrainian President and share all it’s contents in an un-redacted format," the statement says. "While the President has the broad authority to conduct foreign policy as he sees fit, the Speaker and her conference continue to resist and obstruct progress that would benefit all quarters of the country."

U.S. Rep. Steve Womack tweeted that he wasn't surprise by the impeachment inquiry.

"Instead of governing, House Democrats have been obsessed with impeachment -- it's been their entire agenda," he said. "Now, they are moving forward with an inquiry without all the facts. Fueling hysteria and spreading unsubstantiated narratives is dangerous. Congress should be focused on the real challenges facing the nation."