Congressman Hammers Fellow Republican over Call To Impeach Trump: No Collusion, No Obstruction
Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said he was “floored” by Republican colleague Rep. Justin Amash’s allegation that President Donald Trump engaged in impeachable offenses.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Amash, who represents Michigan’s 3rd congressional district, became the first GOP member of Congress to call for Trump’s removal from office.
He also alleged that Attorney General William Barr “deliberately misrepresented” special counsel Robert Mueller’s report in his initial four-page summary of it.
Here are my principal conclusions:
1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report.
2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.
3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances.
4. Few members of Congress have read the report.— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
Biggs — a member of the House Judiciary Committee where impeachment proceedings would begin — told Fox News on Monday, “Justin’s a friend, but Justin’s wrong on this, clearly, and the way he did this is all wrong, as well.”
“The reality is there was no collusion, there was no conspiracy,” Biggs said. “That’s check one. Number 2, the obstruction charge, to have the obstruction, you really need the predicate crime, or the underlying crime. Well, there was no underlying crime, so he wasn’t obstructing.”
“I was kind of floored by Justin’s conclusions. I disagree with him wholeheartedly on this,” the congressman added.
WATCH: @SandraSmithFox got reaction from @RepAndyBiggsAZ as @justinamash is under fire from fellow Republicans over impeachment talk#nine2noon pic.twitter.com/avs7GZdMFi
— America’s Newsroom (@AmericaNewsroom) May 20, 2019
Biggs also took exception with Amash’s allegation that few members of Congress have actually read the 428-page Mueller report.
“I’m amazed at that, because everybody I know who is even talking about this publicly, and in private to me about his, we have all read the report. We’ve compared notes,” Biggs said.
The lawmaker recounted his own experience of being at the U.S. border with Mexico in Yuma, Arizona, with six of his GOP colleagues when the report came out. They wasted no time printing it out and reading it “immediately.”
“I’m just flabbergasted that he would assert that nobody’s read this or few people have read this,” Biggs said.
Trump responded to Amash’s call for impeachment, tweeting, “Never a fan of @justinamash, a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy.”
“If he actually read the biased Mueller Report, ‘composed’ by 18 Angry Dems who hated Trump, he would see that it was nevertheless strong on NO COLLUSION and, ultimately, NO OBSTRUCTION,” the president wrote.
“Anyway, how do you Obstruct when there is no crime and, in fact, the crimes were committed by the other side?
….he would see that it was nevertheless strong on NO COLLUSION and, ultimately, NO OBSTRUCTION…Anyway, how do you Obstruct when there is no crime and, in fact, the crimes were committed by the other side? Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents hands!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
“Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents hands!” Trump wrote.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy charged that Amash “votes more with Nancy Pelosi than he ever votes with me. I question whether he’s in our Republican conference as a whole.”
Meanwhile, fellow Michigander and Palestinian-American Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib praised Amash’s sentiments.
“You are putting country first, and that is to be commended,” she tweeted. “We both took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Please let me know if you are interested signing on to the resolution to begin the investigation into impeachment.”
You are putting country first, and that is to be commended. We both took an oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution. Please let me know if you are interested signing on to the resolution to begin the investigation into impeachment. https://t.co/f5CT3uB81d
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 18, 2019
In a subsequent tweet, she encouraged Amash to come meet with her: “I’ve got an impeachment investigation resolution you’re going to want to cosponsor.”
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota also commended Amash.
???? This isn’t about politics, it’s about the fate of our nation! https://t.co/TmxWAE9eo9
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) May 19, 2019
“This isn’t about politics, it’s about the fate of our nation!” she tweeted.
The Detroit Free Press reported that Republican state Rep. Jim Lower announced plans on Monday to challenge Amash to represent Michigan’s 3rd congressional district, which includes the city of Grand Rapids.
The Western Journal has reached out to Amash for comment but has not yet received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
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