Trump’s obstruction ‘clear,’ says House committee chair

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said Sunday that he planned to request documents from more than 60 people with ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, his administration and his businesses, including the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., as part of the committee’s investigation of the president.

Using the language of a prosecutor, Nadler said his goal was to present “the case to the American people about obstruction of justice, corruption and abuse of power,” which could lay the groundwork for eventual impeachment proceedings or other congressional action.

He added that it was “very clear that the president obstructed justice.”

Nadler told ABC’s This Week that he would also request documents from Allen Weisselberg, chief financial officer for the Trump Organization. Michael Cohen, Trump’s former personal lawyer, repeatedly referred to Weisselberg’s central role in Trump’s business transactions during his testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Reform last week.

Nadler said Cohen “directly implicated the president in various crimes, both while seeking the office of president and while in the White House,” singling out as a particular concern Cohen’s claim that he was reimbursed for hush money payments to keep quiet Trump’s affairs.

Nadler said it would be an “impeachable offence” if Trump were found to have participated in any scheme to “sabotage a fair election.” He cautioned, though, that “impeachment is a long way down the road.” “We don’t have the facts yet,” he said. Without naming Nadler, Trump tweeted Sunday morning that he was being “persecuted by some very bad, conflicted & corrupt people in a Witch Hunt that is illegal & should never have been allowed to start — And only because I won the Election!”

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the minority leader, said on This Week immediately after Nadler’s appearance that the chair’s caution on impeachment was masking his true intentions.

“I think Congressman Nadler decided to impeach the president the day the president won the election,” McCarthy said.