Trey Gowdy said the Democrats’ impeachment strategy is an acknowledgment they believe President Trump will be reelected in 2020.
A former Republican congressman from South Carolina, Gowdy argued the Democrats instead are angling to take control of the Senate to rein in Trump.
“The impeachment inquiry, investigation, votes, and ultimate refusal to transmit articles are not about removing Trump from office. Rather, it is a tacit acknowledgment he will be reelected in November of 2020. The plan now is to use impeachment to neuter that second term with a Democrat-controlled Senate,” Gowdy said in a Fox News opinion piece published Thursday.
Gowdy, who recently confirmed he will not be a member of the legal team representing Trump during his impeachment trial after some confusion late last year, has been heavily critical of the Democrats’ impeachment effort and named the GOP senators he believes are being targeted.
“This impeachment exercise is most assuredly about removing someone from office. It’s just not about removing Trump from office. It’s about removing Cory Gardner, Martha McSally, Thom Tillis, Susan Collins, and Joni Ernst from their Senate offices,” he wrote.
After testimony by dozens of witnesses on the Ukraine matter, the Democratic-led House passed two articles of impeachment last month that charged Trump with abuse of power in dealing with Ukraine and obstruction of Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, is withholding articles of impeachment because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has signaled he may not call any witnesses. McConnell has signed onto a measure that would allow lawmakers to begin Trump’s impeachment trial without receiving the articles.
Gowdy encouraged Republicans to begin a Senate trial as soon as possible.
“Senate Republicans should move to acquire jurisdiction and release those articles of impeachment from wherever they are currently imprisoned. And Senate Republicans should set a day certain for the trial to begin,” he said.
