Rep. Tim Ryan, one of the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates who had taken a wait-and-see approach on impeaching President Trump, on Thursday said Congress now might be left with no other choice.
“I’m a lot closer today than I was yesterday,” the Ohio Democrat said in an interview with NPR. “I think what Mueller said yesterday basically said that he would have indicted the president, but for the fact that the law would not allow it.”
In a rare public statement, special counsel Robert Mueller said Wednesday that Justice Department guidelines prevented him from charging the president with any potential crimes stemming from his probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election, but that he wouldn’t exonerate the president, either, based on what he’s found.
Mr. Ryan said that based on Mr. Mueller’s report, it appears that Mr. Trump repeatedly obstructed justice.
“I read the report a couple of times, and it seems like [on] four, five, six occasions he obstructed justice,” he said. “And we may be left with no choice at this point but to impeach him.”
Mr. Ryan said he doesn’t “want” to impeach the president, but that Mr. Trump is not a “king.”
“I’ve been around 20 years — I know exactly what’s going to happen. This is going to be very divisive for the country, but it looks like we have to,” he said.
Shortly after the Justice Department released a version of Mr. Mueller’s report last month, Mr. Ryan had said the House needed to conduct its own investigation.
“There’s a process in place here,” Mr. Ryan said last month on CNN. “I trust [Judiciary Committee Chairman] Jerry Nadler.”
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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