Here's Where MoCo's Congressional Dems Stand On Impeaching Trump

BETHESDA, MD — A handful of Montgomery County's congressional leaders have thrown support behind impeachment proceedings for President Donald Trump amid allegations that he asked a foreign government to dig up dirt on one of his election rivals.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Rep. Jamie Raskin, Sen. Ben Cardin, Rep. John Sarbanes, and Rep. David Trone — all Democrats — have declared support for impeachment proceedings after reports that Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine as he urged that country's leader to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden and his son.

Over the past week, news reports have detailed Trump's efforts to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Biden — who is running to be Trump's opponent in the 2020 presidential election — and his son, Hunter Biden, who worked for the Ukrainian gas company Burisma.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry Tuesday afternoon following The Washington Post's Monday night report that the White House withheld nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine leading up to Trump's July 25 phone call with Zelensky.

The president would ultimately face a trial in the Senate if the House's 435 lawmakers vote to impeach him. Only two presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Neither of them were convicted at trial.

A number of Maryland congressional leaders have expressed support for the formal impeachment inquiry, including Van Hollen.

He took to Twitter on Tuesday to say:

It’s time for the House of Representatives to open an official impeachment inquiry against President Trump. I have thought about this deeply and regret that our country has to endure this process, but it's the only way for Congress to protect the rule of law. pic.twitter.com/eSuTr6NdU4
— Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) September 24, 2019

Raskin, an outspoken critic of Trump, said the president "clearly betrayed his office, the Constitution and national security" and that "his day of constitutional reckoning is coming."

President Trump has clearly betrayed his office, the Constitution and national security. Our Caucus is unified against this dangerous corruption of office. His day of constitutional reckoning is coming.
— Rep. Jamie Raskin (@RepRaskin) September 24, 2019

Sarbanes also chimed in on Twitter Tuesday evening. Like dozens of other House Democrats, Sarbanes calls Trump's conduct "impeachable."

President Trump admitted that he illegally attempted to coerce a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election. This is a gross abuse of power — impeachable conduct.
— John Sarbanes (@JohnSarbanes) September 24, 2019

Cardin on Wednesday said the House needs to formalize an impeachment inquiry to see whether Trump violated the Constitution.

For the sake of our nation, the House followed the only Constitutional course available by formalizing an impeachment inquiry. Without prejudging the outcome, I agree that Americans need a full understanding of whether @POTUS violated the Constitution https://t.co/nvSfr3wykI
— Senator Ben Cardin (@SenatorCardin) September 25, 2019

Here's what Trone said:

I swore an oath to protect our Constitution, and I intend to do that.

It's time to open an impeachment inquiry.https://t.co/wuBn1Mi6wi
— Rep. David Trone (@RepDavidTrone) September 24, 2019

Patch's Noah Manskar contributed to this report.