President Donald Trump complained Wednesday that the fresh push from some Congressional Democrats for impeachment proceedings amounts to "presidential harassment," bemoaning ahead of a Democratic caucus meeting on Wednesday that lawmakers "are getting zero work done."
"Everything the Democrats are asking me for is based on an illegally started investigation that failed for them, especially when the Mueller Report came back with a NO COLLUSION finding,” dismissing their efforts as a fishing attempt in order to bolster an impeachment inquiry," the president wrote on Twitter.
“Now they say Impeach President Trump, even though he did nothin [sic] wrong, while they ‘fish!’”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has worked this week to deflect renewed enthusiasm within her caucus to begin impeachment proceedings in the wake of the White House's refusal to comply with Congressional subpoenas. Pelosi, who urged caution on the question of impeaching the president, will hold a meeting with Democratic House members on Wednesday.
Hours before that meeting, Trump derided Democrats’ investigative efforts as an extension of what he considers to be a witch hunt, despite special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation yielding multiple indictments and a tranche of evidence showing his probe was justified.
“After two years of an expensive and comprehensive Witch Hunt, the Democrats don’t like the result and they want a DO OVER. In other words, the Witch Hunt continues!” Trump wrote. “The Democrats are getting ZERO work done in Congress. All they are focused on is trying to prove the Mueller Report wrong, the Witch Hunt!”
The president also complained that the Mueller investigation has dragged down his poll numbers, which he suggested should be much higher given the strength of the U.
S. economy to date under his administration. Trump predicted on Twitter that without the Russia probe, his poll numbers would be at 65 percent.Trump’s tweets come as the question of impeachment reaches an inflection point on the Hill, following former White House counsel Don McGahn’s refusal, at the Trump administration's request, to comply with a subpoena for his testimony. McGahn’s no-show, coupled with GOP Rep. Justin Amash’s calls over the weekend to begin impeachment proceedings, appeared to be a breaking point for rank-and-file Democrats to call for the same.
Some have argued that impeaching the president is one way to force the White House to turn over documents — though Democrats scored a legal victory Monday when a judge upheld a subpoena for Trump’s financial records from his accounting firm.
Pelosi on Wednesday is expected to reiterate to her members that an impeachment inquiry without broad bipartisan support would likely backfire on Democrats, and to urge them to stay the course with their investigations into Trump. Her firm opposition thus far led to a closed-door clash earlier this week between the speaker and progressive members who have called for impeachment proceedings to move forward. For now, the speaker's leadership team and the relevant committee chairmen have remained in line with Pelosi's stance.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine