Congressman Cleaver Releases Statement On Impeachment of President Trump

(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, II released the following statement regarding his vote on the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

"Yesterday, I voted to table a resolution containing the articles of impeachment of President Donald Trump. I believe that this President has sent tasteless tweets, made crude and cruel comments, and embraced those who espouse hatred and division while pushing policies like the Trump tax cuts which benefit him and his children. However, I will not violate who I am by refusing to wait until the special counsel has completed his investigation. On the subject of impeachment, I have decided to say nothing as often as I can. After all, in the United States we believe in due process, even if the President believes that a federal judge, because of his race, cannot be fair on the federal bench. I realize that Trump's presidency generates anger. I will remind folk that there is only one letter of the alphabet that separates anger from danger. My vote to table was an issue of fairness.

The danger in prematurely impeaching the President, for me - understandably not everyone - is that my actions begin to mimic those of the President whom I rebuke for his parti pris. If articles of impeachment are introduced after Special Counsel Mueller submits his report to the House of Representatives, I will be able to stand firmly in the "well" of the House and vote with integrity, based on the material presented. On President Trump, my goal is to function from this moment forth in a manner such that when one thinks of fairness and decorum, they think of me."

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Housing and Insurance, and also a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. For more information, please contact Heather Frierson at 816-842-4545 or Heather.Frierson@mail.house.gov.