Trump slams impeachment calls as Democrats take House

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON

U.S. President Donald Trump ripped calls for his impeachment Friday as Democrats take the reins in the House of Representatives.

"How do you impeach a president who has won perhaps the greatest election of all time, done nothing wrong (no Collusion with Russia, it was the Dems that Colluded), had the most successful first two years of any president, and is the most popular Republican in party history 93%?" Trump said on Twitter, referring to a Washington Post poll in August.

"We won the Senate, they won the House. Things will settle down. They only want to impeach me because they know they can’t win in 2020, too much success!" he added.

In mentioning collusion Trump was likely referring to an ongoing special counsel investigation that is probing Russian interference in the 2016 election as well as possible cooperation between the effort and the Trump campaign.

That probe led by Robert Mueller has yet to conclude and has led to the indictment of several prominent individuals who played leading roles in Trump's presidential campaign.

The chances Trump faces impeachment skyrocketed after Democrats took control of the House following the November 2018 midterm elections in which they seized a majority in the chamber.

The House constitutionally holds the authority to begin impeachment proceedings against a president. The Republican-held Senate would have to try any impeachment charges brought against the president.

Freshman Democratic Representative Rashida Tlaib, one of the first two Muslim-American congresswomen, has been one of the most forceful voices calling for Trump's ouster.

Shortly after being sworn in Thursday she told supporters in no uncertain terms that Trump's impeachment is squarely on the agenda.

"We're going to go in there and we're going to impeach the [expletive]," she said to raucous applause.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, however, told USA Today she would not support the House taking up impeachment unless it was "clearly bipartisan," a tall order given hitherto Republican opposition.

"I keep coming back to the same word: the facts," she said. "The facts will indicate a path, and I don't think we should impeach a president for any political reason, but I don't think we can ignore any behavior that requires attention and that was all based on the facts."