After remaining silent for months, Congressman Scott Peters (D-CA) has called for the impeachment of President Trump. Peters is comparing the alleged wrongdoings of Trump, specifically those revealed in the Mueller investigation, to the severity of former President Richard Nixon’s “Watergate” scandal. Peters is now the second representative from San Diego, the first being Juan Vargas, to endorse the impeachment of Trump.
In a long series of tweets by Peters, he begins by stating that the impeachment has no relation to the President’s character or policies. He continues by quoting the section of the Constitution that is concerned with impeachment as a futile attempt to support his initial claim. Peters then speaks to those who voted for then-candidate Trump, essentially calling their behavior despicable, but retraces his steps by implying that it’s the voters’ prerogative to discern whom they vote for. Furthermore, he continues the pandering by explaining his trust and confidence in the intelligence of American voters. Congressman Peters then turns the responsibility from the voters to Congress in determining whether what the president did was impeachable.
Then, and perhaps the most noteworthy tweet by Peters, he contradicts his previous tweet by viciously attacking the character and policies of President Trump:
We’ve seen terrible policies from Trump: dangerous foreign policy, tariffs that hurt Americans, reckless tax cuts, cruelty toward asylum-seekers, and attempts to rip health care from millions. I disagree with Trump’s policies, but they’re for elections, not impeachment.
— Rep. Scott Peters (@RepScottPeters) June 26, 2019
Peters goes on about how America should not pursue impeachment for political reasons, but should also not shy away from it based on political reasons. That sends a very hypocritical message because Peters is advocating for impeachment for political reasons. Impeachment, according to the Constitution, is about a sitting president committing “high crimes and misdemeanors,” not about political agendas. If Congressman Peters believes pursuing impeachment is necessary, he needs to point to the evidence high crimes and misdemeanors, rather than using political animus as a justification for removing the president from office. For supposedly wanting to uphold the Constitution, Peters is doing the exact opposite.
Congressman Peters is basing his entire impeachment claim off the Mueller investigation. However, there is no evidence of the aforementioned transgressions in the final report provided by Robert Mueller. If there was anything worthy of prosecution or impeachment, it would have been clear in the report. In the end, Peters’ argument for Trump’s impeachment lacks sufficient evidence. His Watergate analogy reveals the political motivation behind his desperate calls for impeachment, attempting to win frivolous political fights rather than forward legislation that benefits the American people.
