Town Hall Roundup, Week 3.5: Impeachment, NSA and Obamacare

Time for the next installment in CQ Roll Call’s coverage of the town halls of August — impeachment edition.

Since we last checked in, at least two members have raised the specter of impeaching President Barack Obama.

In speaking with constituents on Aug. 10 about Obama and lingering fears that he wasn’t born in the United States, Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Texas, said that while, in the House, “you could probably get the votes” for impeachment, it probably wasn’t a good idea to go through with it, given it would be a non-starter in the Senate.

Then, on Tuesday, GOP freshman Rep. Kerry Bentivolio of Michigan told constituents it would be a “dream come true” to impeach Obama — but at the moment he doesn’t have the evidence.

“Until we have evidence, you’re going to become a laughingstock if you’ve submitted the bill to impeach the president because number one, you’ve got to convince the press,” he explained. “There are some people out there no matter what Obama does he’s still the greatest president they’ve ever had. That’s what you’re fighting.”

But it doesn’t mean Bentivolio hasn’t explored his options.

“I went back to my office and I’ve had lawyers come in,” he continued. “These are lawyers, Ph.D.s in history, and I said, ‘Tell me how I can impeach the president of the United States.’”

Exactly what the lawmakers would impeach the president for wasn’t immediately apparent.

Elsewhere in Michigan, another Republican, Rep. Justin Amash, held a town hall event on Aug. 14. There, he accused House GOP leaders of preventing rank-and-file lawmakers from receiving pertinent information about National Security Agency surveillance activities, specifically the blanket collection of telephone records that has recently come to light following leaks from former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden.

“We would go to congressional briefings, and they’ll talk about the Patriot Act, for example, in pretty plain terms,” said Amash, according to local news reports. “But they won’t tell you about the uses of the Patriot Act.”

Via: Roll Call

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