Washington Dems cackle: Mueller 'sure is finding a lot of witches'

Washington state Democratic members of Congress trumpeted truth, justice, and the Robert Mueller investigation after Trump fixers Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort were convicted on Tuesday.

But calling for impeachment? Mmmm....

Rep. Adam Smith (D-9th District), told KUOW that there is now enough evidence for the House to begin an impeachment investigation.

“Now, I don’t want to prejudge it and say, ‘We should impeach him!’ There is a proceeding,” Smith said. First the House Judiciary Committee needs to examine the evidence to see if there is enough to file impeachment charges against the president. The case for impeachment will be the strongest after Mueller concludes his investigation, Smith said.

Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-6th District) of the Olympic Peninsula issued a statement on the importance of the Special Counsel’s investigation.

“In the United States, nobody is above the law—no matter who they are, who they know, or how deep their pockets are. And today shows that if you break the law, justice will be served,” Kilmer said in the statement.

Senator Maria Cantwell echoed the sentiment. “I want the Mueller investigation to continue to its conclusion and not be short circuited by anyone,” she said in a statement.

Same with representative Rick Larsen (D-2nd District): “The Mueller-led investigation is working,” he said in a statement. “This investigation is not a witch hunt. If it were, Mueller sure is finding a lot of witches.”

Larsen discounted any talk of impeachment, as coming only from the president and his administration in an effort to distract voters and from a fringe group of Democrats.

“Impeachment is a blunt instrument when so many other tools exist that Congress can use to hold the president accountable and root out corruption and incompetence in the administration,” he said.

(By contrast, crickets from the red side of the aisle as of Tuesday evening. Washington’s Republican Congress members had not tweeted their thoughts or returned requests for comment.)

A third of Washington state’s 12 members of Congress used the word “corruption” in their reaction to Tuesday’s events.

Pramila Jayapal (D-7th District) was following the news from Bangalore, India, where she is visiting her parents. At 1:37 a.m. Seattle time, she tweeted, “#CultureOfCorruption must stop,” mentioning Manafort and Cohen, along with the criminal indictments of two GOP congressmen, Duncan Hunter (CA) and Chris Collins (N.Y.), on alleged ethics violations. She concluded the tweet: “Make America Honest Again.”

Tuesday was a “reminder of the growing cloud of corruption and criminal activities” surrounding the president, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray said in a statement. She said she is focused on supporting the Mueller investigation get what it needs to uncover the truth.

“As we learn more and get those conclusive answers then Congress should take any appropriate steps—and of course impeachment should be an option,” Murray said.