CT Congressional Members Call For Trump Impeachment Proceedings

CONNECTICUT — Several Connecticut congressional members expressed an interest to start an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump following a whistleblower complaint regarding the president’s conversations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal called on the House of Representatives to begin the inquiry.

“I am deeply sorry that our nation must begin this journey toward impeachment,” Murphy said in a Tuesday morning statement. “Up until these recent developments, I had resisted calling for the House to begin impeachment proceedings, choosing instead to allow the House to consider its options free from senatorial advice. But circumstances have changed, and the seriousness of the moment requires all of us to speak out in order to preserve our nation’s commitment to the rule of law.”

Blumenthal said the threat to the rule of law and democracy have reached new heights.

“I am calling today for a House Select Committee to investigate and move forward with impeachment proceedings against the President,” Blumenthal said in a statement “I reached this decision with sadness, but also anger, after the President has repeatedly broken laws and betrayed his oath of office.”

A whistleblower from the intelligence community filed a complaint in August. The complaint hasn’t been made public, but the Washington Post and others reported allegations that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.

Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire has refused to share the complaint with Congress. Trump said he spoke about nothing improper during the call with Zelensky.

Murphy had met with Zelensky in a September visit to Ukraine. Murphy said that Zelensky expressed concerns that foreign aid was being cut off as a consequence for not launching an investigation into the Bidens, according to the Washington Post.

Rep. Jim Himes was the first member of the Connecticut congressional delegation to call for impeachment proceedings to start. He wrote an open letter in June urging the House to take up the matter.

Other members of the Connecticut delegation are less forceful about their willingness to start an impeachment inquiry. A major sticking point now is whether the whistleblower’s complaint is released to the congressional Intelligence Committee.

Rep. Rosa Delauro said Trump is testing the bounds of law and if the allegations in the complaint prove true they would amount to a reckless abuse of power.

“I am in full support of the Intelligence Committee’s handling of this matter, which is in their jurisdiction,” she said in a statement. “They must have unfettered access to the entire whistleblower’s complaint, and the whistleblower must be able to come forward and be heard without retribution. An impeachment inquiry may be the only recourse Congress has if the President is enlisting foreign assistance in the 2020 election. Congress must meet this pivotal moment in our nation’s history with decisive action.”

Rep. John Larson said that he would support the start of impeachment proceedings if the Director of National Intelligence doesn’t comply with a subpoena Thursday that was issued by the Intelligence Committee.

“Here in the Constitution State, we take the rule of law and the Constitution seriously. In our system of justice, the rule of law must be followed. No one is above or beneath the law, and everyone must be held accountable,” Larson said.

Rep. Joe Courtney said that if the complaint isn’t forwarded to the congressional intelligence committee then it would force Congress to act and uphold the law.