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Trump says ‘the people would revolt’ if he were impeached

December 11, 2018 at 10:52 p.m. EST
President Trump in 2017. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

President Trump commented on impeachment Tuesday, claiming he’s unconcerned by the possibility and positing that “the people would revolt if that happened.”

The remark came during a White House interview with Reuters, his first since federal prosecutors in New York filed a sentencing memo for Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal attorney.

"It’s hard to impeach somebody who hasn’t done anything wrong and who’s created the greatest economy in the history of our country,” said Trump.

Despite Trump’s deflections, his impeachment has become a talked-about topic across party lines.

The 2020 presidential election could determine whether Trump faces consequences for alleged crimes

Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance regulations in August, admitting he paid off women at Trump’s direction to keep stories of his extramarital affair from surfacing during the 2016 election.

Last month, Cohen also admitted he lied to Congress about the president’s real estate project in Russia.

President Trump addressed impeachment during a Sept. 6 rally in Billings, Mont. (Video: The Washington Post)

Friday’s new court documents portray the president as a participant in several federal offenses. Legal experts say he could be held criminally liable for felonies including tax fraud and public disclosure crimes.

Trump’s latest tweets cross clear lines, experts say: Obstruction of justice and witness tampering

Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani also declared in August that the “American people would revolt” against impeachment.

“President Trump is completely cleared,” he said. “You’d only impeach him for political reasons.”

But Democrats and committed conservatives alike have said that “it’s time to put a conspiracy theory to rest.”

Conservative writer David French wrote Monday that in less partisan times, the contacts between Russians and senior Trump officials would “generate far more bipartisan concern. Even now, they should at the very least demolish the worst of the pro-Trump conspiracy theories.”

No talk of ‘the Resistance’ or opinions about impeachment at work, federal employees are warned

Investigations — by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III and federal prosecutors in New York — are escalating.

Documents have all but named Trump as an unindicted co-conspirator who helped deceive American voters during the 2016 presidential election.

Now, with the Democrats taking control of the House, impeachment has again become a prominent topic of debate among leaders in Congress.

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