Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus Shares Her Viewpoints on the Impeachment Inquiry

Congresswoman Dina Titus, who sat on the impeachment inquiry panel, shares her perspective on the issue with TVT.

When asked what she thought when she first read the transcript of the phone call between the president of the United States and the president of Ukraine, Titus said “It’s a quid pro quo, but it happens all the time.” She says that this is what has really kicked off the major concern in the area of national security as a reason for impeachment.

Since she is on the impeachment inquiry panel, she was in the room when certain Republicans stormed in with their cell phones and then ordered pizzas. Titus describes this experience as childish. She says that depositions are supposed to be private because they don’t want the witnesses getting their stories straight before they come in to testify. “Some of the transcripts are already being released and we will have public hearings starting very shortly, but those are in a secure room. They tried to just stage these antics and one of them was rushing into the room as though they’ve been kept out because they’re in there. They then carried their cell phones, which you’re not supposed to do because it’s a secure room. And then they would leave so the depositions could continue and even ordered pizza,” explained Titus.

Some Republicans claim that the process of impeachment inquiry is not fair and that it is unconstitutional. Titus says that “if hypocrisy was a crime that those people would be in jail. They just have to blame the process because they have no defense for the president’s actions.” She tells TVT that the process is the exact same way it has been done in the past with Nixon and then under Clinton. She stated that they are only following the rules that were set when the Republicans were in charge under Boehner as the speaker.

Her initial insights on the impeachment inquiry are that it’s gotten very complicated. First with the Mueller report that was that looked at for collusion. Then there was what Titus called a monument clause. “I think what we need to do is just boil it down to simple terms, regardless of who the president’s opponent is. It’ll come up during the campaign without question, and I’m confident that he will be impeached by the House,” stated Titus.

Donald Trump has repeatedly asked for whistleblowers’ identities to be revealed. Dina Titus says that this is not right for several reasons. “It is dangerous for the individual who is the whistleblower, because he or she will get a lot of threats. It’s also dangerous for future people because that means that those who see something wrong happening we’ll be hesitant to come forward. That’s why whistleblower laws were put in place to start with. We want people who see something wrong to feel secure to report it so that you can correct mistakes or go after somebody legally. If they don’t feel safe, they won’t come forward, and you’ll never know what’s going on behind the scenes.”

The investigation into his taxes could be an additional charge. Titus explained that the inquiry is focused on the Ukrainian situation but there could also be a charge for obstruction of justice, which was one of the charges against Nixon. “The main thrust right now is Ukraine, because that is a national security concern,” declared the congresswoman.

Titus said she believes there is enough evidence that shows that he has violated his oath of office to be president. “He has certainly not behaved in a presidential way that we have ever seen in the past, and it’s obvious that he just uses his office for his own personal gain.”

Titus has not at this moment provided endorsement for any of the presidential candidates.

On a local level, Titus expressed her opinions of the recent homeless ordinance passed by Mayor Goodman. She thinks the best way to get to homelessness, is to get to the root causes. “You can’t just give somebody a shower today and expect they won’t be homeless tomorrow. You’ve got to really look at finding a place people can stay, helping them to find a job, and treating their mental illness or drug abuse problem. We should have zero veterans homeless.”

Titus concludes saying that “it’s not an easy thing to do, but I know there are a number of groups that are working together on it.”