Update (10 am ET): Just as we anticipated, President Trump has responded to Amash's comments by calling him a "total lightweight" and somebody who has regularly opposed Republican policies.
Never a fan of @justinamash, a total lightweight who opposes me and some of our great Republican ideas and policies just for the sake of getting his name out there through controversy. If he actually read the biased Mueller Report, “composed” by 18 Angry Dems who hated Trump,....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
Trump also accused Amash of playing into the Democrats' hands.
....he would see that it was nevertheless strong on NO COLLUSION and, ultimately, NO OBSTRUCTION...Anyway, how do you Obstruct when there is no crime and, in fact, the crimes were committed by the other side? Justin is a loser who sadly plays right into our opponents hands!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2019
We look forward to watching Amash walk this one back.
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Despite supporting President Trump's legislative agenda roughly two-thirds of the time (though he recently made a show of opposing the president's border-emergency order), Michigan Rep. Justin Amash tweeted Saturday that he believes the president should be impeached, a position that will undoubtedly alienate him from his Republican peers, becoming the first elected Republican to endorse that position.
Not only did the Mueller Report show that Trump engaged in what Amash called "impeachable conduct", but Amash criticized Attorney General Barr, whom he accused of deliberately trying to distort the report's conclusions (keep in mind, Mueller has confirmed that Barr's representations of the report's findings were 'factually accurate').
In an epic, seemingly apropos-of-nothing tweetstorm, Amash concluded that "partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances," and that "few members of Congress have read the Mueller report," which clearly suggests that Trump may have committed serious offenses related to obstruction of justice.
Here are my principal conclusions:
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller’s report.
2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct.
3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances.
4. Few members of Congress have read the report.
I offer these conclusions only after having read Mueller’s redacted report carefully and completely, having read or watched pertinent statements and testimony, and having discussed this matter with my staff, who thoroughly reviewed materials and provided me with further analysis.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
In comparing Barr’s principal conclusions, congressional testimony, and other statements to Mueller’s report, it is clear that Barr intended to mislead the public about Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s analysis and findings.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
Barr’s...