Washington, DC – Jenny Beth Martin, Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action, issued the following statement in response to House Democrats’ decision to release two proposed articles of impeachment against President Trump:

“The Democrats’ decision to issue articles of impeachment against President Trump for ‘obstruction of Congress’ and ‘abuse of power’ is an unprecedented and dangerous attack on the separation of powers and executive privilege. Based on apparent Democrat standards of ‘high crimes and misdemeanors,’ nearly every previous American president could have been impeached and removed from office, beginning with George Washington:

• George Washington could have been impeached for ‘obstruction of Congress’ for denying Congress records of the Jay Treaty negotiation, which he refused, citing executive privilege.
• Thomas Jefferson could have been impeached for ‘abuse of power’ for enjoying support from the French Ambassador in the presidential election of 1796, while supporting a Treaty with Paris against the wishes of President Washington.
• Abraham Lincoln could have been impeached for ‘abuse of power’ for giving cabinet positions to people who supported him at the 1860 Republican National Convention, for suspending habeas corpus, and for using the US military to restrict the newspapers published by political opponents.
• Lyndon Johnson could have been impeached for ‘abuse of power’ for using the FBI and CIA to spy on political opponents, specifically bugging Barry Goldwater’s campaign plane, and for using CIA Director William Colby to prepare campaign material.
• Barack Obama could have been impeached for ‘abuse of power’ for weaponizing the IRS, which investigated conservative organizations that opposed many of his policies, and for ‘obstruction of congress’ for allowing his attorney general, Eric Holder, to withhold testimony and document production in the Fast and the Furious case.

“Whatever articles the Democrats draw up are pure garbage. There was no collusion, there was no quid pro quo, there was no bribery, and now there are no high crimes or misdemeanors. These articles are merely an attempt to abuse the power of the House to undo the 2016 election, and remove President Trump before he is reelected. On behalf of the millions of members and supporters of Tea Party Patriots, I call on the House of Representatives to dismiss this impeachment out of hand, and, if partisan considerations in the House trump justice, I call on the Senate to bring the impeachment trial to a swift conclusion.”

For media inquiries, please contact Erica Nurnberg at enurnberg@crcstrategies.

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