As talks of the potential for President Barack Obama’s impeachment ripple through town hall events throughout the country, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) became the next member of Congress to discuss the possibility with constituents, saying Obama was getting “perilously close” to the standard for impeachment.
Coburn spoke with constituents at the Muskogee Civic Center in his state of Oklahoma. When asked about holding President Obama accountable, the Senator detailed the wrongdoings of the administration, saying he leveled with Oklahomans and was fed up and frustrated.
“What you have to do is you have to establish the criteria that would qualify for proceedings against the president, and that’s called impeachment,” Coburn said as the room broke into applause. “That’s not something you take lightly, and you have to use a historical precedent of what that means. I think there’s some intended violation of the law in this administration, but I also think there’s a ton of incompetence of people who are making decisions.”
The Senator continued, saying America is “in a serious time” and that in order for articles of impeachment to be brought before the Senate, they would have to first be evaluated and determined, and then brought before the House.
“I don’t have the legal background to know if that rises to high crimes and misdemeanor, but I think we’re getting perilously close,” he said of the constitutional standard for impeachment.
Coburn then went on to detail accounts of U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services employees relaying orders from officials at the Department of Homeland Security to just “approve people” and “ignore all the background.”
“I’m documenting all this stuff as it goes along, but I don’t know where that level is,” he said. “Im kinda like the lady in the back. I’m fed up. I’m frustrated and I’m happy to raise an issue at every point.
“Barack Obama is personal friend of mine. He became my friend in the Senate but that does not mean I agree in any way with what he’s doing or how he’s doing it. And I quite frankly think he’s in a difficult position he’s put himself in, and if it continues, I think we’re going to have another constitutional crisis in our country in terms of the presidency,” Coburn continued.
The Oklahoma Republican joins a host of congressman discussing the possibility of impeachment charges being brought up against the President. Earlier this week, Rep. Kerry Bentivolio (R-Mich.) told constituents drafting an impeachment bill would “be a dream come true.” And Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-Texas) said he believed there were enough votes in the House to impeach the President.
Watch Coburn discuss impeachment below.
