Articles of impeachment being drawn up against Donald Trump, says congressman

Representative Al Green says he is prepared to start the impeachment process

At least one congressman says he has preparing to initiate the impeachment process for Donald Trump.

Democratic Representative Al Green told C-SPAN he is drawing up articles of impeachment with the help of constitutional lawyers.

“We will move forward, and as a matter of fact, I am currently crafting, drafting if you will, articles of impeachment,” he said.

Mr Green first called for the president’s impeachment last week, after Mr Trump fired then-FBI Director James Comey and admitted he had been thinking about the FBI’s investigation into his campaign’s possible ties to Russia.

“These acts, when combined, amount to intimidation and obstruction,” Mr Green said during a press conference in his southwestern Houston district. “If the president is not above the law he should be charged by way of impeachment by the US House of Representatives.”

An impeachment, however, requires more than one man’s written charges. A full impeachment would require a majority vote in the House and a two-thirds majority in the Senate – both of which are currently controlled by Republicans.

Only two US presidents have ever been impeached by the House of Representatives, and both were later acquitted by the Senate.

While some Democrats have floated the I-word, none of Mr Green’s colleagues have publicly discussed initiating the process.

“No one ought to, in my view, rush to embrace the most extraordinary remedy that involves the removal of the president from office,” Representative Adam Schiff, whose committee is investigating the Trump campaign’s possible ties to Russia, said last week.

Prominent Democrats like Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Dick Durbin have also counselled patience.

Mr Green, however, said he is willing to go it alone if necessary.

“At some point, we’ll wait to see what others will do, and if no one else does, the president has committed an impeachable act, and I will take it upon myself to do that,” he said.