Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) said Trump committed a federal crime when he tried to intimidate impeachment witness, Marie Yovanovitch.
Rep. Jackson Lee said on All In with Chris Hayes:
Let me say what we witnessed today was an abuse of power, a mountain of abuse of power. Contributing to that, of course, was the most devastating and seemingly senseless tweet attacking the witness as she was testifying. That happens to be a federal crime. I was reading the statute that says that any attempt to stop a witness from testifying in a corrupt and intimidating manner is illegal if they are testifying in a legal proceeding or a proceeding that is official. This was an official proceeding.
And so whatever argument our friends on the other side of the aisle — and let me very clear, Democrats want this to be a process where they put their nation and the people of the United States over themselves and the party. We’re hoping that a light will turn on that they will look at the facts — I don’t know how anyone could not see that a witness that has been sworn to testify and is in the midst of her testimony, and a tweet or a statement comes out that smears her and suggests that she is in quotes, no good, obviously could in that moment intimidate the witness.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
So I don’t think that it is in any way a question. I do think that that adds to the facts of this whole umbrella of abuse of power and all the elements that I heard you discuss really play into what the founding fathers established as the one barrier or the one law if I might use that terminology that protects the American people against an abusive leader who is using the power of the office not for himself — excuse me, not for the American people but for himself.
Video:
Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) says Trump committed a federal crime when he tried to intimidate the impeachment witness, Marie Yovanovitch. pic.twitter.com/l8EmHrzJNb
— Sarah Reese Jones (@PoliticusSarah) November 16, 2019
Trump committed a federal crime which is almost certain to be a new article of impeachment when the articles are drafted by the Judiciary Committee.
Trump tried to pull from his Russia investigation playbook, but it turned into the commission of a federal crime by the President Of The United States.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Follow Jason Easley on Facebook
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
