Indian-origin Shri Thanedar's impeachment effort against Trump not vetted by party, co-sponsors withdraw names

Several House Democrats distanced themselves from Shri Thanedar's articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. They were initially part of the impeachment attempt as they signed as co-sponsors of the resolution.

Reps. Kweisi Mfume (Maryland), Robin Kelly (Illinois) and Jerry Nadler (New York) had signed on as co-sponsors of Rep. Shri Thanedar’s (D-Mich.) impeachment resolution — which includes seven articles of impeachment — but Tuesday afternoon, they went to the House floor and asked for their names to be taken off the legislation. The House clerk granted their request.

The reason for their withdrawal revealed a strange aspect of the impeachment articles that Thanedar brought. Spokespeople for Kelly and Mfume said the lawmakers initially signed on to the effort because they assumed it had been reviewed by leadership. Later they learnt that it was not reviewed by the leadership and hence they asked for their names to be removed, the Hill reported.

“Congressman Mfume removed himself as a cosponsor from H. Res. 353 because he was made aware it was not cleared by Democratic leadership and not fully vetted legally — and he preferred to err on the side of caution,” the spokesperson for Mfume said.

“The Congresswoman was under the impression that the resolution was drafted and reviewed by both the House Judiciary Committee and Leadership when she originally signed on during a vote series on the floor,” Kelly’s spokesperson echoed.

'I can not speak for the action of other members'

Reacting to the withdrawal of the names of the co-sponsors, Thanedar said he can not speak for the actions of other members. "I am doing this because Trump has blatantly violated the Constitution," he said. The chair of the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), said trying to remove Trump from office “is not an exercise the party is willing to undertake as the GOP is in the total control of Congress.

Is Thanedar trying to raise money through his impeachment attempt?

MAGA activist Laura Loomer claimed that Shri Thandera is hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign debt and the only reason he brought the articles of impeachment against Trumpp is to fundraise his way out of the debt.