Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just called out Democratic leaders for not moving to impeach Trump

Joshua Roberts/Reuters

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez greets Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi before a ceremonial swearing-in picture on Capitol Hill in January.

• Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday called out Democratic leaders for being afraid of the political consequences of impeaching President Donald Trump.
• "Whether it's Dem fear or GOP recklessness, doesn't matter," Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter. "Failure to impeach now is neglect of due process."
• "It is just as politicized a maneuver to not impeach in the face of overwhelming evidence as it is to impeach w/o cause," the freshman Democrat tweeted.
• Ocasio-Cortez also alluded to the multiple possible instances of obstruction of justice by Trump outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the Russia probe.
• Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have repeatedly expressed a reluctance to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump.
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on Tuesday called out fellow Democrats for being afraid of the political consequences of moving toward impeaching President Donald Trump.

Democratic leaders like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have repeatedly expressed a reluctance to launch impeachment proceedings against Trump largely because Republicans control the Senate and they believe it's a losing proposition. Correspondingly, they're concerned about alienating voters ahead of the 2020 election. Polling has repeatedly shown that Americans are divided over the subject of impeaching Trump, with less than half expressing support for it.

Ocasio-Cortez believes these are insufficient reasons to not move forward with impeachment.

"It is just as politicized a maneuver to not impeach in the face of overwhelming evidence as it is to impeach w/o cause," the freshman Democrat tweeted on Tuesday. "Congress swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. That includes impeachment. We have a duty to preserve our institutions + uphold the rule of law."

In a separate tweet, Ocasio-Cortez went on to say, "Just as what happens in the House doesn't control Senate, what happens in the Senate shouldn't control the House...We need to do our job & vote on impeachment. What [the Senate] does is on them."

Read more: Michael Cohen told Congress that Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow discussed a 'global pardon' to 'shut this whole thing down'

Ocasio-Cortez also alluded to the multiple possible instances of obstruction of justice by Trump outlined in special counsel Robert Mueller's report on the investigation he led into Russian election interference.

The Democratic lawmaker then added that former President Bill Clinton was impeached but acquitted in the Senate, stating, "Our institutions didn't suffer then, but they have been damaged greatly today [with] unwillingness to impeach."

"Whether it's Dem fear or GOP recklessness, doesn't matter," Ocasio-Cortez said. "Failure to impeach now is neglect of due process."

This comes just several days after Republican Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan became the first member of his party in Congress to express support for impeaching Trump.

Amash outlined why he believes Trump "engaged in impeachable conduct" and also alleged Attorney General William Barr "deliberately misrepresented" the findings of the special counsel's Russia investigation. The Michigan lawmaker has since faced backlash from fellow Republicans.