A small group of House Democrats introduced articles of impeachment Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump.
Representative Steve Cohen told a press conference that five other Democrats have signed his resolution to introduce five articles of impeachment against the president.
They charge that Trump obstructed justice when firing former FBI Director James Comey, that he has violated the Constitution's emoluments clause, and that he has undermined the independence of the federal judiciary and freedom of the press.
"The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this president that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment," Cohen told reporters.
"We're calling upon the House to begin impeachment hearings," the Tennessee Democrat said. "It's not a call for a vote. It's a call for hearings."
Cohen, the ranking member on the House judiciary committee's Constitution subcommittee, admitted that the Democratic proposal has little chance of success to get through either the House or the Senate, both controlled by the Republicans.
But he pledged to hold briefings in lieu of hearings to highlight what he says Trump's impeachable offenses.
In response, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement that time spent calling for the president's impeachment "would be better spent focusing on tax relief for American families and businesses."
"It's disappointing that extremists in Congress still refuse to accept the president's decisive victory in last year's election," she said.
Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for Republican National Committee, labeled the push for impeachment as "a baseless radical effort."
This is not the first time that Democrats have pushed for Trump's impeachment.
Earlier this month, representative Pramila Jayapal claimed the president had committed impeachable constitutional violations and urged other Democrats to act.
