House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler denied that he flipped his opinion on partisan impeachments, despite watching a clip where he said it could cause “divisiveness and bitterness.”
During President Bill Clinton’s impeachment, Nadler argued that impeaching a president with the support of only one party would “lack legitimacy, would produce divisiveness and bitterness in our politics for years to come.”
In an interview on State of the Union, host Dana Bash pushed Nadler to defend the current impeachment of President Trump, given that it has no support from Republican members of Congress.
“Right now you’re moving forward against impeachment without support from one congressional Republican. Is it fair to say that this impeachment in your words back then will provide divisiveness and bitterness for years to come?” Bash asked.
Nadler responded, “No, what I think puts bitterness and divisiveness into our politics is the conduct of the president, who questions the patriotism of people who don’t agree with him, who calls political opponents human scum, who talks about the fake press, who derides the judiciary, who attacks all of our democratic institutions.”
The New York Democrat referenced a poll that shows 70% of Americans believe Trump was wrong to ask Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. That same poll showed that a much slimmer majority, just 51%, supported impeachment and removal from office.
Nadler said he would impeach Trump without the support of any Republicans and said that it was on them to make the impeachment rise above party.
“If we are going to impeach the president, we’ll impeach him on adequate urgent grounds to defend our democratic republic,” he said, later adding, “It is up to them if they want to be patriots or partisans.”
Nadler, 72, has been in Congress since 1992.
