Rep. Maxine Waters has called not only for President Trump's impeachment, but his imprisonment as well. The Chairwoman of the Financial Services Committee, Waters's call for the imprisonment of Trump on Tuesday came after attacks directed toward the intelligence community whistleblower complaint, which sparked a formal impeachment inquiry by House Democrats.
"I'm calling on the GOP to stop Trump's filthy talk of whistleblowers being spies and using mob language implying they should be killed. Impeachment is not good enough for Trump. He needs to be imprisoned and placed in solitary confinement. But for now, impeachment is the imperative," Waters tweeted.
I'm calling on the GOP to stop Trump's filthy talk of whistleblowers being spies & using mob language implying they should be killed. Impeachment is not good enough for Trump. He needs to be imprisoned & placed in solitary confinement. But for now, impeachment is the imperative.
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) October 1, 2019
Waters, who was one of the first members of Congress to call for Trump's impeachment, first rose the prospect of prison time for him following the sentencing of his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen had admitted to participating in crimes including tax evasion and campaign finance violations related to hush money payments to women alleging affairs with Trump.
"Michael Cohen is serving three years for the crimes that he committed w/ and for the President of the USA. Many are wondering why this case was closed. It ain't over until it's over & it ain't over until Trump is held responsible for all of his crimes. Impeachment first, prison next!" Waters tweeted at the time.
Michael Cohen is serving 3 yrs for the crimes that he committed w/ and for the President of the USA. Many are wondering why this case was closed. It ain't over until it's over & it ain't over until Trump is held responsible for all of his crimes. Impeachment first, prison next!
— Maxine Waters (@RepMaxineWaters) July 22, 2019
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley issued a statement Tuesday related to the matter calling for all parties to calm speculation and wait until the whistleblowers testimony can be heard by Congress.
“This person appears to have followed the whistleblower protection laws and ought to be heard out and protected. We should always work to respect whistleblowers’ requests for confidentiality," Grassley said, the chairman of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus, in a statement reported by The Hill. “No one should be making judgments or pronouncements without hearing from the whistleblower first and carefully following up on the facts."
Democrats announced an impeachment inquiry Tuesday afternoon following reports Trump pressured the Ukrainian President to investigate his potential 2020 opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden.
