*By Christian Smith*
The clamor to impeach President Trump has increased in volume since Democrats won back the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month ー and one member of the chorus is former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, who said the president's term recalls another dark period in American political history.
"There are very serious issues with regard to President Trump's conduct," Holtzman told Cheddar Monday.
"Some of this resonates with and echoes what happened during the Nixon administration."
Holtzman makes her full case for President Trump's impeachment in her new book, "The Case For Impeaching Trump."
Holtzman served in Congress from 1973 until 1981, representing parts of Westchester and the Bronx in New York as a Democrat.
In the book, she argues that Trump has committed impeachable offenses that resemble Nixon's crimes during the Watergate era ー specifically, she said, firing DOJ officials involved in his investigation and offering pardons to keep his allies quiet.
Nixon eventually resigned before Congress was able to vote on his impeachment. Holtzman served on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate probe and voted in committee to impeach Nixon.
Critics have said that Holtzman, a Democrat who also called for the [impeachment of President George W. Bush](https://www.thenation.com/article/impeachment-george-w-bush/) in 2006, simply wants to impeach Republican presidents. But she dismissed that argument ー largely because her impulse to impeach isn't governed by political party.
"If I had been in Congress when Lyndon Johnson was there I might have said something very different about him," Holtzman said.
"He was a Democrat and he lied about getting us into the war ー escalating the war in Vietnam. I think that was a real danger to this democracy."
Republicans dropped Rep. Jim Jordan on Friday as their nominee for House speaker, making the decision during a closed-door session after the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump failed badly on a third ballot for the gavel.
Canada has removed 41 of its diplomats from India as tensions rise between the two nations.
Mitt Romney said he believes right-wing media is the reason for the radicalization of the GOP party.
An Army private who fled to North Korea before being returned home to the United States last month has been detained by the U.S. military, two officials said Thursday night, and is facing charges including desertion and possessing sexual images of a child.
Israel bombarded Gaza early Friday, hitting areas in the south where Palestinians had been told to seek safety, and it began evacuating a sizable Israeli town in the north near the Lebanese border, the latest sign of a potential ground invasion of Gaza that could trigger regional turmoil.
The Justice Department has secured a $9 million settlement with Ameris Bank over allegations that it avoided underwriting mortgages in predominately Black and Latino communities in Jacksonville, Florida, and discouraged people there from getting home loans.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip with airstrikes on Thursday, including in the south where Palestinians were told to take refuge, and the country's defense minister told ground troops to “be ready” to invade, though he didn’t say when.
Addressing the nation from the Oval Office, President Joe Biden has made his case for major U.S. backing of Ukraine and Israel in a time of war.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Thursday that inflation remains too high and that bringing it down to the Fed's target level will likely require a slower-growing economy and job market.
Despite deepening opposition, Rep. Jim Jordan is expected to try a third vote to become House speaker, even as his Republican colleagues are explicitly warning the hard-edged ally of Donald Trump that no more threats or promises can win over their support.
