Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) is refuting claims that he is the first House Republican to support an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, clarifying that he supports the oversight process, not impeachment.
While speaking with local media outlets last week, the Nevada congressman reportedly expressed concern over Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“Let’s put it through the process and see what happens. I’m a big fan of oversight, so let’s let the committees get to work and see where it goes,” Amodei said at the time. “Using government agencies to — if it’s proven — to put your finger on the scale of an election, I don’t think that’s right. If it turns out that it’s something along those lines, then there’s a problem.”
I now have a full appreciation of how the President feels. My full statement here: https://t.co/DhZV6DUztl
Have a nice weekend.
— RepMarkAmodei (@MarkAmodeiNV2) September 27, 2019
Following Amodei’s exchange with reporters, the Nevada Independent swiftly published an article stating that Amodei supports the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, making him the first member of the Republican caucus to do so (Michigan Rep. Justin Amash is also on board with impeachment but identifies as an “independent”).
Amodei, however, released a statement specifically pointing to the aforementioned story, written by reporter Humberto Sanchez. He further highlighted Sanchez’s claim that Amodei “supports the House’s inquiry into whether President Donald Trump should be impeached, but is withholding judgment on whether Trump has crossed the legal line.”
“This is absolutely an accurate statement in the sense that the House and Senate have both unanimously supported this resolution expressing the sense of Congress that the whistleblower complaint received on August 12, 2019, by the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, should be transmitted immediately to the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives,” Amodei said in a press release. “It is also accurate that the White House supports this same resolution.”
“In no way, shape, or form, did I indicate support for impeachment,” his statement continued.
Amodei further noted that his feelings towards the situation were best described by his Nevada colleague Sen. Catherine Cortez-Mastro (D-NY) who told reporters earlier in the week, “I think from all of that information, we have to follow the facts and figure out what happened here.”
“Anyone who reads Sanchez’s article and thinks that somehow there is a vote to convict before the process has played out — as called for by the resolution unanimously supported by everyone concerned — is simply, individual fantasy,” Amodei’s statement continued. “I now have a full appreciation of how the President feels. Have a nice weekend.”
A spokesman for the Nevada lawmaker also explained to The Washington Post on Saturday that supporting Pelosi’s inquiry means that “you stand with the 223 Democrats who have made it clear that if we were to vote right this second today to impeach Trump, they would vote yes before any sort of process has transpired.”
The spokesman further noted that Amodei supported a resolution put forward by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy which condemned Pelosi’s launch of an impeachment inquiry without a formal vote by the House.
“Again, prior to any such process playing out, the congressman does not support impeachment in any way, shape or form,” the spokesman added.