Caribbean American Presidential Candidates Want to Impeach Trump

Two candidates for United States president with deep Caribbean roots have joined the chorus of those calling for the impeachmentof Donald Trump, who currently holds the job they’re seeking.

Wayne Messam and Kamala Harris, who have parents from Jamaica, along with several other Democrats running for the highest political office in the U.S., are urging the U.S. Congress take action against Trump. They claim the president may have committed crimes, including obstruction of justice, while in office.

Impeachment is trial by Congress - House of Representatives and Senate. If the process is carried out successfully against Trump, it could force hisremoval from office.

Messam, the mayor of the Florida City of Miramar, is convinced findings from the recently concluded report by independent counsel Robert Mueller, who was assigned to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election which Trump won, offer enough evidence to impeach the president.

“Based on what is available I believe the President should be placed under impeachment proceedings and let the weight of the full report carry out the justice the American people deserve,”Messamexplained in a statement to The Hill news outlet recently.

OBSTRUCTION

Mueller, in his report, pointed to multiple incidents where Trump possibly obstructed justice, including attempts to fire people who could possibly testify to his wrongdoing or those responsible for investigating possible crimes by him. Mueller repeated his claim from the report that he did not exonerate Trump.

“If we had had confidence that the president clearly did not commit a crime, we would have said so,” Mueller explained while addressing the publicon May 29.

He said U.S. Justice Department guidelines prevented him from charging a sitting president with a crime, implying that is the job of Congress. Harris, a U.S. senator representing California, demanded Congress move to impeach Trump.

“What Robert Mueller basically did was return an impeachment referral,” Harris stated on Twitter. “Now it is up to Congress to hold this president accountable.

“We need to start impeachment proceedings. It is our constitutional obligation.”

IN PLAY

Nancy Pelosi, Democratic leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, where impeachment proceedings would need to begin, had not, as of last month, supported that process.

Up to press time, at least 50 House representatives, including one Republican, supported Trump’s impeachment. Far more,however, had not done so publicly up to press time. Pelosi argued she wanted a solid case against Trump before considering impeachment.

“Nothing is off the table,” she said late last month, “but we do want to make an iron clad case.”

At least 20 Republicans in the U.S. Senate would also need to support a bid to successfully impeach the president and remove him from office. Up to press time no Republican senator had done so.

The latest CNN poll showed 54 percent of people in the U.S. oppose impeaching and removing Trump. Those favoring impeachment, however, have risen from 37 percent to 41 percent since the last poll in late April. The highest pro-impeachment number was 47 percent in Sept. 2018, according to CNN. Some 76 percent of Democrats want Trump impeached, up from 67 percent in April.

Trump called attempts to impeach him “disgusting.” He isadamant he’s not guilty of wrongdoing.

Trump has claimed there was no collusion with Russians by his campaign and no obstruction of justice during the subsequent investigation. Following Mueller’s May 29 statement, the Republican president stuck to his claim.

“The case is closed! Thank you,” tweeted Trump, who has repeatedly called Mueller’s investigation a “hoax” and “witch hunt” conducted by “angry Democrats.”

Democrats don’t agree.

“Special counsel Mueller provided evidence that would determine if impeachment proceedings should take place,” Messam told The Hill.

In recent decades the U.S. Congress has moved to impeach two sitting presidents - Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton. Nixon resigned. Clinton survived impeachment and remained president.