Key Democrat says Trump allegations could be ‘impeachable’

A key Democratic lawmaker says that if new allegations against US President Donald Trump are proven, they would amount to “an impeachable offense.”

As the incoming chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, Representative Jerrold Nadler would play a central role should the new Congress, now with a Democratic majority in the House, move to open impeachment proceedings.

Asked on CNN’s “State of the Union” whether federal court filings Friday alleging that Trump directed his personal attorney to make illegal hush-money payments to two women constituted impeachable offenses, Nadler says “they would be,” if proven.

But as he and other Democrats wrestle with the politically explosive question of how to respond to the investigations touching Trump and his inner circle — including the question of possible collusion with Russia before the 2016 election — they cautioned that much remains unknown.

“You don’t necessarily launch an impeachment against the president because he committed an impeachable offense,” Nadler says. The alleged offenses must be proven, and their gravity be found sufficient to act, he adds.

— AFP