Norton Statement on Mueller Report, Impeachment Process

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The office of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) released the following statement on the Mueller Report and the impeachment process:

"With the release of the Mueller Report, questions about impeachment will be given new life. Many discuss that issue as if the word impeachment is the end, rather than the beginning of the process.

"Impeachment is the beginning of a process that mirrors an indictment followed by a trial. The House acts as prosecutor and the Senate acts as both the judge and jury. Importantly, the House may vote on articles of impeachment by majority vote, but the Senate needs 2/3 of its Members to convict. However, impeachment is a political, not a judicial, process. As the attempt to impeach President Clinton shows, the House, in considering impeachment would do well to follow the example set by a typical U.S. attorney, who usually does not indict unless she is sure she can convict. Even if the House had a majority for impeachment, for sure, the Senate, controlled by Republicans, would not have the 2/3 necessary for conviction.

"What a waste to squander our first majority in eight years on a futile impeachment process. The public expects Democrats to show something for the majority they have given us. The question of Trump's obstruction of justice, which many Americans believe they saw in plain sight, is still on the table. That leaves a great deal of investigation to be done by Congress. That does not change my view, however, that impeachment will take us down a road that goes nowhere."