At restaurant Busboys and Poets’ northwest D.C. location, Rep. Maxine Waters spoke passionately last week to a crowd of mostly young people about her contempt for President Donald Trump.
The veteran California Democrat proved blunt even though she’s since walked back her call for the impeachment of the 45th president.
She did, however, offer a pointed rebuke of Trump.
“We’ve got to stop his [behind],” Waters, 78, said. “We have to do it, everyone has a part to play. We have the power. You can do it.”
Later, Waters told MSNBC that allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government need to be investigated. Newsmax noted that when asked if there should be a wait to call for impeachment until there are answers, Waters insisted: “I have not called for impeachment.”
“Here’s what I’ve said,” Waters said. “I’ve said that we need the information, we need to connect the dots, we need the facts in order to do the impeachment. And, I’m going to work every day to try and help get those facts and to reveal them … to our public until, of course, impeachment has taken place.”
Still Waters’ outspokenness has made her a viral sensation as she continues her public undressing of the president and, as noted by The Huffington Post, she even caught millennials’ attention nationwide when she stormed out of a recent press conference after a meeting with FBI Director James Comey, saying that he had “no credibility.”
Her crusade against Trump has been just what she’s meant to do and it’s what the village of black women who raised her prepared her for, she told the Huffington Post.
“Millennials have got to be at the table in every conceivable way. And they can change these institutions,” Waters said. “So, my message is, your time is now. Take advantage of the opportunities that are opening up and move to help provide new leadership in this country.”
Even before Trump reaches his 100th day in office, Congressional Black Caucus members such as Waters have already began calling for either his resignation or impeachment.
Texas Democrat Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has admitted to spending many nights wondering what Trump would do next, adding that she, too, has begun investigating the possibility of drafting articles of impeachment against Trump.
Jackson Lee pointed to Trump’s reported ties to Russia and the ongoing investigation of the role his campaign staff played in wrecking Hillary Clinton’s candidacy through hacked and false email servers.
The congresswoman said the very fact that the FBI has acknowledged an investigation has commenced into Trump’s Russian ties should be enough. She also blasted the president for insinuating that Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, “was just another thug.”
“First, he spent five years trying to delegitimize Obama, saying he wasn’t born here,” she said. “Now, he lies and says the first black president committed a felony, that he wiretapped him. That he’s just another thug. … Government is under siege in Washington; this isn’t a government right now, it’s feigning to be one and it’s a place of havoc.”
Jackson Lee said Trump’s dealings and his various actions should be enough to bring the “high crimes and misdemeanors” charges necessary for impeachment.
According to one web definition, the charges of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct peculiar to officials, such as perjury of oath, abuse of authority, bribery, intimidation, misuse of assets, failure to supervise, dereliction of duty, conduct unbecoming, or refusal to obey a lawful order.
Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds that more is expected of officials by their oaths of office.
“I think about impeachment every day,” said Eddie Bernice Johnson, another Texas Democratic congresswoman. “The reality is, Democrats currently do not have the votes for impeachment.”
Like Johnson and other Democrats, Waters said she cannot and does not respect Trump as president.
“I don’t trust this president,” Waters said. “He’s not working in the best interests of the American people. His motives and his actions are contemptible. The president is a liar and I’m going to fight every day until he’s impeached.”
