House Democrats demand Donald Trump impeachment hearings

A small group of House Democrats have introduced articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump. Representative Steve Cohen told a press conference on Wednesday that five other Democrats have signed his resolution to introduce five articles of impeachment against the President, Xinhua news agency reported.

They charged that Trump obstructed justice when firing former FBI Director James Comey; that he has violated the Constitution's emoluments clause; and that he has undermined the independence of the federal judiciary and freedom of the press.

"The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this President that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment," Cohen told reporters. "We're calling upon the House to begin impeachment hearings," the Tennessee Democrat said. "It's not a call for a vote. It's a call for hearings."

Cohen, the ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee's Constitution subcommittee, admitted that the Democratic proposal has little chance of success both -- the House and the Senate -- are controlled by the Republicans. But he pledged to hold briefings in lieu of hearings to highlight what he said were "Trump's impeachable offences".

In response, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that time spent calling for the President's impeachment "would be better spent focusing on tax relief for American families and businesses". "It's disappointing that extremists in Congress still refuse to accept the President's decisive victory in last year's election," she said.

Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for Republican National Committee, labelled the push for impeachment as "a baseless radical effort". This is not the first time that Democrats have pushed for Trump's impeachment. Earlier in November, representative Pramila Jayapal claimed the President had committed impeachable constitutional violations and urged other Democrats to act.