L.A.-area Rep. Ted Lieu got impeachment ball rolling while sheltering in Capitol office during riot

Rep. Ted Lieu questions Intelligence Committee Minority Counsel Stephen Castor and Intelligence Committee Majority Counsel Daniel Goldman during the House impeachment inquiry hearings in Washington, D.C. on Dec. 9, 2019.(DOUG MILLS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: Jan 13, 2021 / 03:31 PM PST

Updated: Jan 13, 2021 / 03:32 PM PST

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Still taking refuge in a Capitol Hill office after violent Trump supporters besieged the House and Senate floors, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) fired off a text message to every Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

The committee “should start drafting articles of impeachment now, regardless of what leadership says,” he wrote in the 3:09 p.m. message. “We have seen the consequences of being weak against Trump and not holding him accountable these last couple months. If we don’t do anything besides send strongly worded press releases, then we are complicit in battering lady justice and our Constitution.”

His colleagues were scattered and panicked, most having fled just moments before angry extremists breached the doors of the U.S. Capitol and began ransacking the place.

But for those who were now safe enough to answer Lieu’s missive, the response was unanimous: Impeach.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.