Republicans are beginning to grapple with the prospect that Donald Trump could be impeached, following reports that the president asked then-FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation into former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn.
Republican congressman Justin Amash told The Hill that if reports were true about Mr Trump’s pressure on Mr Comey, it would merit impeachment.
In an interview with CNN, Republican representative Carlos Curbelo compared Mr Trump allegedly pressuring Mr Comey to drop the Flynn inquiry, to the obstruction of justice cases that led to impeachment proceedings for former presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton.
“Obstruction of justice in the case of Nixon, in the case of Clinton in the late 90s, has been considered an impeachable offence,” Mr Curbelo said.
Both congressmen have criticised Mr Trump and did not vote for him in 2016 presidential election.
The fact that Republicans are now beginning to ponder impeachment demonstrates the reverberating effect the latest Trump scandal has had on Washington.
According to the New York Times, Mr Comey wrote in a memo that the President told him: “I hope you can see your way clear to letting this go, to letting Flynn go.”
The existence of the memo, which was reportedly written by Mr Comey himself, suggests that Mr Trump had attempted to influence investigations into his associates and Russia. There is a broader probe into possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign, as well as a separate investigation into Mr Flynn.
Mr Flynn resigned in February after it was revealed that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other top White House officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.
The Times reported that Mr Comey wrote the memo detailing his conversation with Mr Trump immediately after their meeting, which took place the day after Mr Flynn resigned.
The White House maintains that the memo is not an accurate portrayal of the conversation between Mr Trump and Mr Comey.
