Billionaire Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer is now urging Democrats to use their new majority in the House of Representatives to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. He also told CBS News that he may run for president in 2020.
Steyer has spent over $100 million trying to convince people that Trump should be impeached. And in a New York Times opinion piece published yesterday he called upon newly-elected Democrats to follow through on this goal.
An overwhelming majority of people in this country elected new Democratic leadership to hold Trump accountable, and we plan to hold them to it.
An overwhelming majority of people in this country elected new Democratic leadership to hold Trump accountable, and we plan to hold them to it. https://t.co/RsbC4o0cRV
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— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) November 8, 2018
Here is an excerpt from Steyer’s op-ed:
“As President Trump continues to accelerate his lawlessness, the new Democratic House majority must initiate impeachment proceedings against him as soon as it takes office in January.â€
“For nearly two years, Mr. Trump has publicly flouted his oath of office. He has turned the presidency into a moneymaking enterprise for a family business he refuses to divest from, in direct violation of any plain reading of the Constitution. He is all but an unindicted co-conspirator in two federal felony cases. He has created an atmosphere of criminality through his hateful, violent rhetoric against political opponents, journalists and private citizens alike.â€
“Most egregiously, he has a longstanding pattern of obstructing justice. On Wednesday, he continued this by firing Attorney General Jeff Sessions and installing Matthew Whitaker — who has publicly called for curtailing the special counsel’s investigation — as acting attorney general, sparking a constitutional crisis that threatens the rule of law itself.â€
“As the list of Mr. Trump’s impeachable offenses — at least nine and counting — has grown, more than 6.2 million people across the country have signed a petition, created by my organization Need to Impeach, demanding that their representatives confront his lawlessness. For months, public support for impeaching the president has been roughly equal to what it was before Richard Nixon resigned.â€
Also yesterday, Steyer told CBS News that he is considering a challenge to President Donald Trump in 2020. CBS political reporter Caitlin Huey-Burns tweeted:
“Tom Steyer just now on CBSN asked about a 2020 bid: ‘I promise I’m thinking of it really hard.’ Also says, ‘we need transformational leadership…who will not try to meet in the middle.â€
Tom Steyer just now on CBSN asked about a 2020 bid: "I promise I’m thinking of it really hard." Also says, "we need transformational leadership…who will not try to meet in the middle." @CBSNews
— Caitlin Huey-Burns (@CHueyBurns) November 8, 2018
Steyer is an “interesting†possible presidential candidate for the Democrats in 2020. Much like attorney Michael Avenatti, he has national prominence but no political experience. There is no guarantee that he will win, but if enters the battle for the nomination it will surely make it much more interesting.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
