Suburban U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi becomes 10th Democrat in Illinois’ House delegation to back impeachment proceedings against President Trump

U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, who represents the west and northwest suburbs, on Monday became the 10th Democrat in Illinois’ congressional delegation to back impeachment proceedings against Republican President Donald Trump.

“We have now come to a point where we must engage in an investigation to not only expose wrongdoing and prevent it from happening again, but also to determine whether the current president engaged in behavior meriting the beginning of impeachment proceedings,” Krishnamoorthi, the 8th Congressional District representative from Schaumburg, said in a statement.

“I come to this conclusion with a heavy heart, and it is not a conclusion I relish or desire, but if the ‘rule of law’ is to have any meaning in this country, it is the only appropriate course of action,” he said.

Krishnamoorthi sits on two House investigatory committees, oversight and intelligence, but had previously supported having the House committee process play out before backing impeachment proceedings.

But House Judiciary Chairman Jerrold Nadler of New York has said his panel has essentially begun an impeachment proceeding as it seeks documents and testimony from the Trump administration, citing in court documents the legislative branch’s constitutional role in impeachment.

Krishnamoorthi said he has reviewed both classified and unclassified documents as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible involvement with Trump’s campaign.

“Despite the Trump administration’s refusal to provide requested witnesses and documents in our ongoing investigations, we have still uncovered serious, troubling evidence of unethical and illegal behavior by the president,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Krishnamoorthi becomes the 131st member of the House to back at least impeachment proceedings against Trump, with all but one of the members coming from the Democratic majority in House.

He’s also the 10th Democrat among the state delegation’s 13-5 Democratic majority to urge pursuing impeachment. In addition to Krishnamoorthi, an inquiry is backed by Reps. Brad Schneider of Deerfield, Lauren Underwood of Naperville, Sean Casten of Downers Grove, Robin Kelly of Matteson, Jan Schakowsky of Evanston and Chicago Reps. Mike Quigley, Bobby Rush, Danny Davis and Jesus “Chuy” Garcia.

The other three Democratic members of the delegation have taken a wait-and-see stance along the lines supported by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. They are: Reps. Bill Foster of Naperville, Dan Lipinski of Western Springs and Cheri Bustos of Moline.

Author: Rick Pearson
PC: Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune
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