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Arkansas delegation decries impeachment inquiry

Arkansas Democrat Gazette
9/25/19

WASHINGTON -- Members of the all-Republican Arkansas congressional delegation Tuesday denounced House Democrats for launching an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.

Some delegation members also said it would be inappropriate for a U.S. president to ask a foreign leader to investigate the president's American political opponents and their families.

Others declined to address that scenario.

In a written statement, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs portrayed Tuesday's announcement as political posturing.

"[House] Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi announced an 'official' impeachment inquiry today, but no one knows exactly what that 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," he said. "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."

In an earlier interview, shortly after the White House announced that it would release a transcript of a call between Trump and Ukraine's leader, Westerman said he was glad more details would be made public.

"I think it's always good to get answers and see what the facts are," he said.

A whistleblower complained to Intelligence Community Inspector General Michael Atkinson that Trump encouraged the president of Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. The complaint was not shared by the Trump administration with Congress. Trump said Tuesday that he would share the transcript of the call.

Foreign heads of state shouldn't be asked to investigate a president's political opponents, Westerman said. "I don't think that would be an appropriate thing to do," he said.

But thus far, there are still plenty of unknowns, he noted.

"I've not looked into the details of this, nor have I seen the transcript. What's the context of the conversation? Did that really happen? I don't know," he said.

In a written statement, U.S. Rep. Steve Womack of Rogers called Pelosi's announcement "unsurprising."

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

But through a spokeswoman, Womack questioned the wisdom of involving overseas leaders in domestic politics.

"The Congressman would have concerns with any President involving foreign governments in political matters," his spokeswoman, Alexia Sikora, said in an email.

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford noted the Democratic announcement had been made before the White House had even released a transcript of the call.

"The President has told the American people that he intends to declassify his call to the Ukrainian President and share all [its] contents in an un-redacted format," the lawmaker from Jonesboro said in a written statement. "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."

Asked whether it would be appropriate for a U.S. president to seek an overseas investigation of his U.S. political opponents, Crawford replied, in writing, "It's not any more appropriate than asking a President to disclose the details of a private conversation with a leader of another sovereign nation."

"If it's appropriate for our President to cultivate relationships with his foreign counterparts -- and I believe it is -- then it's also appropriate to allow him to foster those relationships built on trust. Revealing the details of private conversations may jeopardize that trust," Crawford added.

In a written statement, U.S. Sen. John Boozman argued that a process had already been put in place to weigh the recent allegations.

"The Senate voted unanimously [Tuesday] to request that the whistleblower complaint be turned over to the Senate Intelligence Committee. This is the responsible manner in which to investigate accusations. The Speaker is ignoring this process with her blatantly partisan tactics," the lawmaker from Rogers said. "Democrats have long sought to weaken the president, appease their base and further divide the country through impeachment. This latest action demonstrates their willingness to blindly follow this obsession regardless of the facts."

Boozman did not say whether it's appropriate to ask foreign leaders to conduct opposition research on American political candidates.

It's a topic U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Dardanelle also declined to address.

In his written statement, Cotton suggested Democrats are jumping the gun.

"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," Cotton said. "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. Rep. French Hill said Tuesday's announcement is merely Democrats' latest attempt to dislodge Trump from the White House.

"Impeachment has consumed Congressional Democrats since the president's first day in office. The [Robert] Mueller report did not deliver the impeachment verdict they were hoping for, so now they are trying again with an anonymous whistleblower complaint based off, reportedly, zero firsthand information," he said in a written statement. "Speaker Pelosi's decision to move forward with an impeachment inquiry before all the facts have surfaced proves once again that Congressional Democrats care more about undermining the president than finding the truth."

In a news release, the Republican Party of Arkansas called the impeachment inquiry "invalid."

"Under intense pressure from the radical left, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is committed to pursuing an impeachment inquiry without the support of the American people or a substantive reason to do so," it said. "This has been their modus operandi since they lost the election in 2016 and yet another glimpse into how incredibly malicious they are willing to be with their attempts to win an election and defeat President Trump."

Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Michael John Gray dismissed claims that Pelosi had caved to pressure from her left flank.

"Congressional leaders, with the information they have, do not take issues like this lightly. Obviously, Speaker Pelosi has taken some time. I don't believe it's a reaction to any one faction of the party. It looks like she has taken some time and measured this decision," he said when reached by telephone Tuesday evening. "I don't know what the ultimate outcome will be, but there should be some cause for concern on both sides of the political aisle if, in fact, opposition research was solicited from leaders of foreign countries."