HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The majority of Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation by Tuesday afternoon had called for a House select committee to begin an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump, citing the Republican’s efforts to pressure the Ukrainian president to investigate the family of a political rival, former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden.
U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal kicked off the announcements after resisting for months to call on the House of Representatives to take action.
“I am deeply sorry that our nation must begin this journey toward impeachment,” Murphy said in a written statement. “But circumstances have changed, and the seriousness of the moment requires all of us to speak out in order to preserve our nation’s commitment to the rule of law.”
Blumenthal said he reached the decision “with sadness, but also with anger.” He said Trump’s efforts to seek “corrupt assistance from a foreign leader for personal gain crosses the line.”
By the afternoon, U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney, John Larson and Jahana Hayes issued statements expressing their support for an impeachment probe. A member of the House Intelligence Committee, Courtney said the Trump administration’s refusal to release a whistleblower complaint to the Congress regarding the president’s actions concerning Ukraine “has rapidly changed my thinking and the thinking of many other citizens in eastern Connecticut.” Larson said he spoke to Connecticut Rep. Jim Himes, a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee who in June was the first member of the Connecticut delegation to call for an impeachment inquiry.
He said Himes “underscored the gravity of the situation” and said the release of a written transcript of Trump’s phone conversation with the Ukrainian president would not change “that his people have kept the whistleblower complaint from being delivered to Congress in violation of the law.”
Hayes acknowledged she was “not quick to support impeachment” and wanted the process to play out. But she said the refusal to provide the whistleblower complaint led her to support the probe. She said the “president’s obstruction of Congress in carrying out our constitutional duty is concerning.”
Later Tuesday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that a formal impeachment inquiry of Trump was being launched, centering on whether the president abused his presidential powers and sought help from a foreign government for his re-election.
Trump has said he did nothing wrong.
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the remaining member of the state’s delegation, on Monday issued a statement indicating a willingness to consider supporting an impeachment inquiry in light of Trump’s actions concerning Ukraine and his administration’s refusal to release a whistleblower complaint to the Congress regarding the matter.
“I have been reluctant to call for an impeachment inquiry because it would further divide the country,” DeLauro said. “But these actions regarding the 2020 election are a turning point.”
In June, Himes argued that an impeachment inquiry was necessary, arguing Trump has “shown contempt for the truth.”
