Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan pushed back Tuesday against a Trump supporter at a town hall who accused him of drinking the “same Kool-Aid as all the Democrats” by calling on the House to launch an impeachment process against President Trump.
The Michigan Republican, who rode into Congress as a favorite of the tea party movement in 2011, has come under fire from Mr. Trump and his allies since he became the first sitting GOP lawmaker to support impeachment proceedings following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia probe.
At his first town hall since joining the impeachment calls, Mr. Amash, who represents Michigan’s 3rd Congressional District, received a standing ovation and was applauded by the crowd on hand at Grand Rapids Christian High School.
But he also was put on blast by a woman in a “Make America Great Again” baseball cap who accused him of selling out the Republican Party.
She said the Mueller report was part of a broader “smear” campaign involving Hillary Clinton and the “deep state” against President Trump. She said the report was based on lies, and she claimed Mr. Trump cannot be charged with obstruction of justice because he was not charged with a crime.
“That’s not true,” Mr. Amash said. “It is just not legally true that you cannot obstruct justice where there is no underlying crime.”
“It is very easy to explain,” he said, trying to convince the woman he was correct. “The reason someone may not charge an underlying crime is because justice was obstructed. For example, you might have an example where someone obstructs justice and therefore evidence is destroyed or prevented from getting to the prosecutor, so the underlying crime cannot be charged.”
Mr. Amash is the only sitting Republican in Congress to say that Mr. Trump committed impeachable offenses, and in dozens of recent tweets has spelled out his views, including his belief that Attorney General Robert Barr deliberately misrepresented the findings of the Mueller report.
Mr. Amash has faced some blowback from within his party, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy who said Mr. Amash “never supported this president” and is “just looking for attention.”
Mr. Amash alluded to Mr. McCarthy’s swipe at his town hall, describing the California Republican as the party’s “so-called leader.”
“I read the Mueller report,” he said. “I’m sure he didn’t read it. He resorted to ad hominem attacks; that’s the kind of ’leadership’ we now have in Congress.”
Mr. Amash said he is concerned that if the House doesn’t move on impeachment now it may never use the tool again.
“I am concerned that we have gotten to the point where impeachment may never be used in any circumstance and I think that is a greater offense than it being used too often,” he said.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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