DPCC Co-Chair Cicilline: We Can Improve the American People’s Lives And Hold the Trump Administration Accountable
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on Erin Burnett OutFront on CNN to discuss President Trump's involvement in Michael Cohen's crimes. Cicilline highlighted that in addition to holding the Trump Administration accountable, House Democrats will stay focused on addressing the urgent needs of the American people. Democrats will continue working to drive down health care costs, rebuild the infrastructure of our country and tackle the pervasive corruption in Washington. Click here to watch the video
"Well, I think it's important to remember, this is President Trump's Justice Department – who has now said he directed Mr. Cohen to commit two felonies. This is very serious. I think it's important that we again await the final conclusions of the ongoing special counsel investigation because based on what we've seen in the last week, we're starting to get a real window into the special counsel's investigation and the status of that investigation. My guess is – my educated guess is – there's much more to come. We have to wait until all of that is presented to Congress. And if it in fact warrants removal from office, I don't think we'll hesitate to do it. But we need to let the special council finish his work, we need to prevent the President or anyone on his behalf from interfering or impeding or attempting to undermine that investigation. But I think there's much more to come."
"Of course it is a big deal. This is the first time in our history that the Department of Justice has concluded the President of the United States directed an individual to commit two felonies – no one should lose sight of that. This is a very serious offense. It is a crime directed by the President of the United States. If this turns out to be true, of course it's serious. The question is what other information will Congress have that may in addition to that warrant proceeding with impeachment. Because is obviously part of the investigation, but this is a separate case. The special counsel one is a different one. But I think we have to wait for that – but no one should minimize this. This is monumental to have the President of the United States directing another individual to commit two felonies as part of an effort to defraud the American people and win an election. We should not make light of this in any way. It's disappointing to see Members of the United States Senate minimizing this behavior."
"We have one opportunity. One opportunity to make a judgment as a Congress as to whether or not impeachment is appropriate. We owe it to the American people to get all of the information so we make the most informed judgment with all of the evidence. You can only do this once. You're not going to have several bites of the apple. And I think it's important to wait until we get all the information. But no one should think that is not by itself sufficient to remove the President from office."
"I think we owe it to the American people to allow the special council to finish this investigation. Because it may in fact provide a more significant basis for impeachment proceedings. We ought to let that process be finished before we proceed. We worked hard to make sure a special council was appointed. We worked hard to make sure the Attorney General recused himself. Now we need to allow Mr. Mueller to finish this. By the way, while we're doing that, we need to do the things we ran on. We need to drive down health care costs, rebuild the infrastructure of our country, raise family wages, take on the pervasive corruption in Washington and get the government working for the people again. We can do both things: the agenda to [address] the urgent needs of the American people and at the same time, hold this Administration accountable, await Mr. Mueller's report and take whatever action that requires."