Michigan Congressman Justin Amash caused a quake in the Republican Party when he publicly sided with Democrats calling for the impeachment of President Trump, and he’s only doubled-down in the aftermath.
Wow: @justinamash is NOT backing down. He is now talking to a school group on steps of the Capitol about why Trump impeachment proceedings should begin. “Really dangerous for our country” when ppl don’t tell the truth pic.twitter.com/JYhKMtjhuk
— Bo Erickson (@BoKnowsNews) May 21, 2019
“Wow: @justinamash is NOT backing down,” CBS News reporter Bo Erickson posted to Twitter, along with a picture of Amash preaching to dozens of young students outside of the Capitol. “He is now talking to a school group on steps of the Capitol about why Trump impeachment proceedings should begin. ‘Really dangerous for our country’ when ppl don’t tell the truth.”
It’s a message Amash has been harping on for days, since first broadcasting his opinion about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Twitter on Saturday.
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
“Here are my principal conclusions,” Amash wrote. “1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report. 2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct. 3. Partisanship has eroded our systems of checks and balances. 4. Few members of Congress have read the report.”
The message set off a firestorm, with the House Freedom Caucus and virtually all Republicans condemning the comments, while liberals like fellow Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib cheering Amash on.
The @freedomcaucus is about FREEDOM.
This isn’t not about Amash. It’s not even about the President.
It’s about what Emmet Flood said: if the intel community can target the President for political reasons, imagine what they can do to any one of us. https://t.co/V3uvJ7lBL1
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) May 21, 2019
“We had a good discussion and every single member, I think now based on who was there and our board meeting was probably over 30 members, every single member disagrees and strongly with the position Justin took over the week, and we’re focused on the now,” Rep. Jim Jordan told The Hill.
Rep. Warren Davidson said Amash’s position was “shocking” considering the secret surveillance of the president involved and concerns about the FBI abusing the FISA warrant process.
Over the last week, Amash has posted a barrage of nearly four dozen tweets defending the nuances of his position and offering examples of the president’s bad or impeachable behavior, from why an obstruction of justice charge doesn’t require an underlying crime to implied pardons for associates who refuse to “flip.”
“The investigation began before the president was elected and inaugurated,” Amash wrote in one post. “After Trump assumed the powers of the presidency, Mueller’s report shows that he used those powers to try to obstruct and impede the investigation.”
“Mueller’s report describes a consistent effort by the president to use his office to obstruct or otherwise corruptly impede the Russian election interference investigation because it put his interests at risk,” another read.
“The president has an obligation not to violate the public trust, including using official powers for corrupt purposes.”
The Libertarian Republican’s distaste for Trump isn’t anything new. Amash has consistently clashed with the president on numerous issues, most recently on the administration’s infatuation with tariffs, which Amash describes as “big taxes on Americans.”
But the tough talk is costing him a lot more than his credibility with conservatives.
One of Amash’s biggest supporters, the DeVos family of West Michigan, told The Detroit News the family hasn’t contributed to the congressman this cycle and “they have no plans to do so.”
Family spokesman Nick Wasmiller said the decision to ditch Amash came before his “impeachable offenses” comments about Trump, but noted the controversy hasn’t “changed the family’s thinking regarding its intent to not provide future support.”
“Family members have expressed increasing concerns about a lack of representation for their district, the 3rd Congressional, and I would say an inability to advance efforts connected to important policy matters,” he said.
After his spiel to the eighth-graders, Amash shrugged off the DeVos dump when confronted by the News.
“I don’t have any reaction,” he said.
He also shrugged off news that Michigan state Rep. Jim Lower plans to challenge Amash in the 2020 primary, joining Sand Lake Village Trustee Tom Norton who already announced a bid to unseat the congressman.
“It’s not serious,” Amash said.
Amash confirmed to the News he plans to run for re-election in 2020, and he hasn’t ruled out a run for president as a Libertarian Party candidate.
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