SAN DIEGO _ California Congressman Scott Peters tweeted on Wednesday that the U.S. House should begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.
In a lengthy Twitter thread posted in the early afternoon, Peters cited some findings in special counsel Robert Mueller's report, including details of 10 instances of obstruction of justice by the president while in office.
Trump has denied obstructing justice. Attorney General William Barr has said that the evidence in the report was not sufficient to establish that the president committed obstruction of justice.
Mueller, who has said he did not exonerate Trump, concluded that as special prosecutor he couldn't make a "traditional prosecutorial judgment" about levying obstruction of justice charges against Trump.
Peters said now Congress has to fulfill its constitutional duty and uphold the rule of law.
"Impeachment is not about the president's character or policies. It's about upholding the rule of law and defending the Constitution," wrote Peters. "It's about whether he has broken the law. The Mueller Report contains plenty of evidence that he did. Hearings may produce more such evidence."
Peters added that Democrats are leading the way in crafting legislation around issues such as health care, gun safety and civil rights, but the responsibilities of congressional members go beyond that.
"We must continue to pass groundbreaking legislation, as we have, and as we were elected to do. And now we are assigned another solemn task by the Constitution and by current events," he said. "We need to begin impeachment hearings."
The announcement makes Peters the second member of San Diego's congressional delegation to explicitly support impeachment, joining Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, who said in April that the president had broken the law, committed impeachable acts and should be impeached.
The Washington Post this week reported that 80 House Democrats supported opening an impeachment inquiry, including at least 15 of the 24 Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee, which would be the entity to start impeachment proceedings. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff have resisted launching impeachment proceedings.
Peters has previously not commented on impeachment, supporting hearings to follow up on the findings of Mueller's report. He stopped short of directly calling for impeachment proceedings though.
"We have to acknowledge our congressional duty to provide a check on the executive branch," said Peters during an interview in late May. "But nobody should let impeachment talk consume all their time in D.C. or at home."
Mueller is expected to testify before the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees next month.
