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Queens Reps are united on Trump impeachment inquiry but they didn’t arrive at same conclusion together

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Courtesy of the White House

The Queens Congressional delegation is finally on the same page when it comes to the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.

When Congressman Gregory Meeks became the 166th Democratic member of the House to declare support for the action on Sept. 24, he was the final Queens representative to reach that conclusion and it came after Speaker Nancy Pelosi changed course earlier that day announcing she supported the impeachment inquiry amid the growing controversy over Trump’s July 25 phone conversation with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and the White House’s refusal to send a whistleblower’s report to Congress as is required by law.

“As someone who has long said the president’s conduct makes him unfit for office, and called for committees of jurisdiction to continue their oversight investigations, I believe this administration has crossed the line in refusing to turn over information on the whistleblower,” Meeks said. “Not only are they required to hand over that information by law, and are thus obstructing Congress’ constitutional oversight duties, what the whistleblower brought forward is unprecedented. The president of the United States has solicited a foreign government to fabricate dirt on his political opponent, hanging the implication of withdrawn U.S. support as leverage. This unprecedented abuse of power, and continued obstruction, leaves one with no other recourse but to pursue impeachment proceedings.”

Other representatives reached their conclusions much sooner. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney called for the start of an impeachment inquiry in June.

“After carefully reviewing evidence laid out in the Mueller report, after attending numerous hearings, after listening to the concerns of my constituents, and after doing as much soul-searching as I’ve ever done in my life, it is my inescapable conclusion that the House of Representatives must open an impeachment inquiry against the president of the United States,” Maloney said in a statement.

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez signed on to an impeachment resolution led by fellow “Squad” member Rashida Talib of Michigan at the same time and is currently fundraising on the issue since the whistleblower complaint was made public.

Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, the former chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, who represents parts of southwest Queens, announced her position back in June.

“As the first member of Congress to call for a Special Council, I’ve been carefully reviewing the Mueller report and listening to my constituents,” she said in a video posted on social media. “I have now come to the conclusion that the House has a constitutional responsibility to begin an impeachment inquiry.

Congressmen Tom Suozzi and Hakeem Jeffries, which both represent parts of Queens, made their positions clear on Twitter posts.

Jeffries, who replaced former Congressman Joe Crowley as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, voted to expand the parameters of the House Judiciary Committee’s impeachment inquiry on Sept. 12.

“Voted YES,” Jeffries tweeted. “No. One. Is. Above. The. Law.”

On Sept. 24, Suozzi tweeted, “I believe that is my Constitutional duty and the duty of the United State Congress to move forward with impeachment inquiries.”

Congresswoman Grace Meng had called for an impeachment inquiry after she studied the findings of Special Counsel Robert Mueller in July. Meng reiterated her position after it became clear that Trump had discussed an investigation into presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son Hunter with the Ukraine president.

“The American people deserve the truth, and the president deserves the consequences of his actions,” Meng said. “President Trump pressured a foreign government to investigate his domestic political rival. I believe this is yet another impeachable offense. President Trump betrayed his oath to the American people. The president cannot be trusted and he will continue to undermine our democracy and risk our national security. I called for impeachment proceedings in July after fully considering Mueller’s findings, and am pleased the House is moving forward.”