In a vacuum, the case to impeach President Trump is straightforward. He used presidential powers for his private, political gain. If further investigation corroborates the facts already known, then Trump committed an obvious abuse of power that many members of Congress will view as impeachable — and perhaps many more would if the party labels were different.
But Republican opinion on the matter hasn’t budged, and comments made by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Wednesday demonstrate why.
“I personally do believe that the president has engaged in flagrant violations of the emoluments clause,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN. “I’m concerned that we would allow this corruption to continue. But at the end of the day, we have to be able to come together as a caucus, and if it is this Ukrainian allegation that is what brings the caucus together, then I think we have to run with however we unify the House” [emphasis added].