Ted Cruz says Barack Obama, Bill Clinton Jimmy Carter could be impeached if Trump is tried after leaving office
Ted Cruz has suggested that Republicans could follow Democrats by example and impeach former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama - after the House of Representatives voted to impeach former President Donald Trump for the second time. Trump became the only president to be impeached twice after Democrats blamed him for "inciting an insurrection" at the US Capitol building on January 6. The 45th POTUS is expected to face trial in the Senate in February, Newsweek reported. Trump, who was previously impeached by the House on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of justice, was acquitted of both by the Senate in December 2019.
The latest impeachment, which was passed by the House, is unlikely to get enough Republican Senators for conviction. Although the Senate voted down a motion brought by GOP Senator Rand Paul challenging the constitutionality an impeachment trial against a former president, just five Republicans joined Democrats in opposing the measure. The Dems need at least 17 Republicans to convict Trump at trial.
Speaking to Fox News host Sean Hannity, Cruz said the Democrats' perceived urgency to impeach Trump was an "exercise in political rage." "They hate Donald Trump," Cruz said. "For anybody who hadn't been paying attention, they made it very very clear. Look, these are the same Democrats who 4 years ago in 2017—actually, in December of 2016 before Trump was sworn in—said they wanted to impeach him. They've wanted to impeach him from the beginning. They did it a year ago."
The Republican Senator from Texas said he felt as though he were trapped in a Groundhog Day scenario "where apparently every January we're going to be doing another impeachment." Cruz continued: "So I guess next year, I don't know, maybe it'll be the impeachment of Jimmy Carter or the impeachment of Bill Clinton or the impeachment of Barack Obama because that's what we do in Januaries." In 1998, Clinton was impeached for perjury and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted by the Senate in February 1999 after he declined to vacate the office.
Cruz has fervently echoed Trump's claims that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. He stepped forward during the January Congressional confirmation of Electoral College votes, submitting a challenge to Arizona's electoral vote. At the time, Cruz told Fox News that he believed he had an obligation "to protect the integrity of the election and to protect the integrity of the democratic system."
Biden's confirmation was interrupted by a mob of rioters that stormed into the U.S. Capitol building. A number of lawmakers were forced into hiding until the situation was quelled. Democrats have claimed Trump's remarks to a crowd of his supporters at a Washington, D.C. rally on the same day were responsible for "inciting" the riot. "We fight like hell," Trump said, "and if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore." However, the then-President did call on his supporters to protest "peacefully."
Congress reconvened a couple of hours after the riots had been contained. Cruz's objection to Arizona's electoral votes was voted down, and Biden was certified as the winner of the 2020 election. Earlier this month, Biden said that Cruz and fellow Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri should "just flat beaten the next time they run," after they supported Trump's voter fraud claims. "I think the American public has a real good clear look at who they are. They're part of the big lie, the big lie," the new President insisted.