A further-left challenger of U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch says his past doubts about impeaching President Donald Trump should disqualify him from chairing the House committee that would coordinate that process.
Brianna Wu, who lost to Lynch in 2018 but is challenging him again, released a video Thursday showing clips from Lynch pouring cold water on impeachment.
In one, from an undated past television interview, Lynch says: “If you’re gonna impeach, you should impeach to impeach, not simply blow off steam.”
In another undated video, Lynch appears to be speaking during a town hall meeting with constituents, some of whom have apparently just called for impeaching Trump.
“I think you’re well-intentioned. You want to do this for all the right reasons. But you’re gonna give Donald Trump another four years. And I don’t want to be part of that,” Lynch says in passionate tones.
Lynch has apparently changed his mind, now wanting to chair the House Oversight Committee.
When it comes to impeaching President Trump, Wu has a message for Democrats:
“Lynch clearly put politics over the rule of law and accountability of this incredibly corrupt president. Now he wants to lead the impeachment effort in the House? Running for Oversight chair is nothing more than an opportunistic effort by Lynch to increase his political profile. It has nothing to do with holding the Executive Branch accountable, which is the constitutional duty of Congress. The man who resisted impeachment cannot be in charge of impeachment,” Wu said in a written statement Thursday, October 31.
Or, from Wu’s video:
Lynch (D-South Boston) as of Thursday night had not directly responded to Wu’s attack on social media.
But he suggested Thursday that the president’s dealings with Ukraine make for a strong case:
Today I voted in favor of H.Res.660, which establishes the procedures for open hearings in the impeachment inquiry so the American people can hear from first-hand witnesses what transpired between President Trump and Ukraine. Here is my full statement: pic.twitter.com/LYvZkbxuWI
Articles of impeachment are widely thought to be likely to pass the U.S. House of Representatives, which Democrats control. But conviction resulting in removal from office has virtually no chance in the U.S. Senate, which Republicans control.
Removal requires a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Senate, which means Trump could have all 45 Democratic senators vote against him along with the two independents who caucus with the Democrats plus 19 Republican senators and still remain in office.
Wu, 42, a video game developer, moved to the Massachusetts Eighth Congressional District to challenge Lynch in the 2018 Democratic primary. She lost 70 to 24 percent.
U.S. Representative Stephen Lynch 
