By Ken Stone
Times of San Diego
SAN DIEGO — As a bandwagon grew in Congress, Rep. Susan Davis on Tuesday joined fellow Democrats in the San Diego County delegation calling for an impeachment investigation of President Trump.
Davis announced her support as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi formally launched an impeachment inquiry in the wake of accusations that Trump threatened to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless that country investigated the son of former Vice President Joseph Biden, a candidate for the Democratic nomination.
Davis, who will step down from Congress at the end of her term, had previously rejected calls for impeachment. She said in a statement (and via a series of tweets):
President Trump’s actions surrounding Ukraine epitomize his disregard for checks and balances as well as normal practices and protocols. It adds to a growing list of illegal acts and abuse of power showing that this President does not have either the capacity or the interest to follow the rule of law.
It is time to open an impeachment inquiry. To not move forward would make Congress complicit in the President’s behavior. The President admitted he made the call, leveraging the power of his office to get what he wanted from a head of State. The Director of National Intelligence has refused to send the whistleblower complaint to Congress as required by law.
It has always been my approach to be as deliberate as possible when facing issues of this importance, especially when looking for unity from across the aisle.
I call on my Republican colleagues, especially those who have privately expressed exasperation with the President, to join with Democrats and protect the integrity of the office of the Presidency and our democracy. Considering the threat to our national interest and national security, I would think my Republican colleagues would be natural allies.
Meanwhile, Rep. Duncan D. Hunter — the only Republican member of Congress from San Diego County — called the effort a “weak attempt to score political points, nothing more.”
Hunter, one of Trump’s first congressional backers, said in a statement:
Democrats have been searching and investigating and pontificating impeachment since the day President Trump was elected, not based on any evidence or facts, but based purely on an ongoing, dogmatic desire to stifle this President and his agenda in any way possible.
Democrats know that the Senate will not convict this President, but they continue to pursue impeachment for the simple political purpose of being able to claim he was impeached. Continuing to waste time on this rather than other important issues is embarrassing and the American people already see right through this shallow display.
According to presidential candidate Tom Steyer’s impeachment website, 22,235 people in Hunter’s 50th District have signed his impeachment petition.
In Davis’ heavily blue 53rd District, 32,031 have signed the petition.
Reps. Mike Levin, Scott Peters and Juan Vargas earlier said they support an impeachment inquiry.
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Ken Stone is a contributing editor to Times of San Diego with which San Diego Jewish World trades news and features under auspices of the San Diego Online News Association.