Rep. Justin Amash breaks with GOP, claims President Trump 'has engaged in impeachable conduct'

Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), a libertarian known for being one of the most conservative and principled members of Congress, claimed Saturday that President Donald Trump has "engaged in impeachable conduct."

What are the details?

Amash, who has been a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, shared his thoughts on social media after completing a comprehensive and thorough review of the Mueller Report.

The Michigan lawmaker said he now believes Attorney General William Barr "deliberately misrepresented Mueller's report" and that "President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct."

"I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller's redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis," Amash explained.

Here's what Amash said about Barr:

In comparing Barr's principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Mueller's report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Mueller's analysis and findings.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Barr's misrepresentations are significant but often subtle, frequently taking the form of sleight-of-hand qualifications or logical fallacies, which he hopes people will not notice.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Here's what Amash said about impeachment:

Under our Constitution, the president “shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." While “high Crimes and Misdemeanors" is not defined, the context implies conduct that violates the public trust.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Contrary to Barr's portrayal, Mueller's report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

In fact, Mueller's report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Impeachment, which is a special form of indictment, does not even require probable cause that a crime (e.g., obstruction of justice) has been committed; it simply requires a finding that an official has engaged in careless, abusive, corrupt, or otherwise dishonorable conduct.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

While impeachment should be undertaken only in extraordinary circumstances, the risk we face in an environment of extreme partisanship is not that Congress will employ it as a remedy too often but rather that Congress will employ it so rarely that it cannot deter misconduct.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

Here's what Amash said about the erosion of checks and balances:

Our system of checks and balances relies on each branch's jealously guarding its powers and upholding its duties under our Constitution. When loyalty to a political party or to an individual trumps loyalty to the Constitution, the Rule of Law—the foundation of liberty—crumbles.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

We've witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views 180 degrees—on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice—depending on whether they're discussing Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

What Amash said about Congress:

Few members of Congress even read Mueller's report; their minds were made up based on partisan affiliation—and it showed, with representatives and senators from both parties issuing definitive statements on the 448-page report's conclusions within just hours of its release.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

America's institutions depend on officials to uphold both the rules and spirit of our constitutional system even when to do so is personally inconvenient or yields a politically unfavorable outcome. Our Constitution is brilliant and awesome; it deserves a government to match it.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019

What did the White House say?

According to the Washington Post, the White House has not yet commented on Amash's sharp condemnation of Trump and Barr.

However, Trump has said that Mueller's report exonerated him of wrongdoing.

Indeed, Mueller's report concluded that Trump's campaign did not collude with Russians to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. However, Mueller's report did not explicitly exonerate Trump of allegations that he obstructed justice.