Saul Loeb/Pool via REUTERS
U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) questions a panel of constitutional experts during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on the impeachment Inquiry into U.S. President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington
Rep. Matt Gaetz suggested impeaching former President Barack Obama on Wednesday during a hearing in the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Gaetz made the comment during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in which legal experts were testifying as part of the impeachment inquiry.
After questioning Democratic-invited witness Pamela Karlan, a Stanford law professor, over her donations to Democratic campaigns, Gaetz suggested "a different" president should be impeached.
"If wire tapping political opponents is a political offense, I look forward to reading that inspector general's report because maybe it's a different president we should be impeaching," Gaetz said on Wednesday.
Gaetz was likely referencing a 2013 incident when it was revealed that the National Security Agency monitoring calls of 35 world leaders during the Obama administration. The White House said at the time that Obama had no knowledge of the wire tapping.
A former president can actually be impeached. They cannot be removed from an office they've already left, but legal scholars told Slate that impeached former presidents can be banned from serving in any future federal elective or appointive government positions.
Watch Gaetz make the suggestion below:
After facing flack online for his comment, Gaetz defended what he said.
House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry into Trump in September. They're investigating whether or not Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine on the condition that the country's top officials investigated former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Much of the inquiry is focused on a July phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
House representatives previously heard testimony from several fact witnesses, some who had direct knowledge of the phone call.
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