Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) is raising questions after former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony this week about his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Lieu says Mueller appeared to give conflicting answers Wednesday about the ability to indict a sitting president, indicating in the first hearing that it could not be done, then rolling that back in the second hearing of the day.
"I found that very odd," Lieu told Cheddar on Friday. "He understood that what he said to me — that he refused to backtrack to the Republican member who followed me — was that Donald Trump committed the crime of obstruction of justice."
Lieu says he thinks Mueller walked back his comments because he didn't want to appear to say he believed the president was guilty of a crime.
Lieu's comments come amid growing pressure from some Democrats to begin an impeachment inquiry, a move that Speaker Nancy Pelosi still says is premature. But Lieu said that support is growing, pointing to five more members of his party who have come to support impeachment proceedings since Mueller's testimony.
"You can't watch these hearings and not conclude three things: that the Russians systematically attacked us in 2016 in our elections in a sweeping manner. Second, that the Trump campaign embraced this attack, used information from it, gave Russians internal polling, and knew it was going to help Donald Trump. And then third, the president committed multiple acts of obstruction of justice, which are felonies, to try to stop the investigation into the Russians."
But other representatives have said the only way Democrats will remove Trump is at the ballot box.
"We do need to be realistic, and that is, the only way he's leaving office, at least at this point, is by being voted out," said Rep. Adam Schiff on Thursday.
Lieu isn't deterred. "When the Nixon impeachment process started, 19 percent of the American people supported it. After a few months of hearings the American people decided Nixon was a crook, and then he eventually resigned," said the representative.
He also called Attorney General William Barr's announcement that he will revitalize federal capital punishment an effort by the Trump administration to "distract" from a bad week for the president.
On this episode of Cheddar Reveals Richenda Sandlin-Tymitz, Marketing & Content Manager at Alaska Tour & Travel, breaks down when and how to plan your best trip to Alaska; Kristen Miller, Acting Executive Director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it; Cheddar gets a look at Curiosity Stream's 'The Magic of the Wild.'
Kristen Miller, acting executive director, Alaska Wilderness League, discusses the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and the oil drilling that threatens it.
The Department of Treasury is warning Americans to expect delays on their tax returns this year as the IRS manages staffing shortages due to the pandemic.
The United States and Russia remain distant following a meeting between high-level officials for the two countries in Geneva, Switzerland. The nations remain conflicted over Washington's concern of a potential invasion of Ukraine by Russia and Moscow dispute with NATO expanding into former Soviet states. Hagar Chemali, host of Oh My World on YouTube and former spokesperson for the U.S. Mission to the U.N., joined Cheddar's "News Wrap" to give her take about the careful diplomatic negotiations underway. "I would expect more rounds," she said about the talks. "Both sides really remain adamant that we're not going to talk about Russia's proposal, and Russia doesn't want to talk about anything but its proposal. So once they start talking about the other items on the table, and there are a few other items, that's when negotiations can start."
Markets closed the day mixed, and well off their lows of the day following a market meltdown earlier in the session. The Nasdaq staged a comeback late in the day, even amid ongoing worries about the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Doug Flynn, certified financial planner and co-founder of Flynn Zito Capito, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss the markets' close and what's driving the major indexes.
Eli Yokley, Senior Reporter at Morning Consult, joins Cheddar News to discuss how Americans are prioritizing economic issues over the pandemic when it comes to voting.
President Biden's disapproval rating hit a new high in December according to a poll from CNBC and Change Research, as Americans expressed their disapproval over the current state of the economy. This comes just months after the president signed a historic infrastructure bill back in November that was promised to bring a surge of jobs, especially in the manufacturing sector.
Change Research Senior Pollster Nancy Zdunkewicz spoke to Cheddar News about just what is driving the President’s disapproval rating.
