'We don’t need a full vote.' Rep. Jayapal pushes forward on Trump impeachment inquiry

Members of the U.S. House of Representatives are looking into impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump.

The House Judiciary Committee is taking the first step by launching an investigation and attempting to obtain the underlying evidence referenced in the Mueller Report.

Washington Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-7th District) is a member of the judiciary committee and is among those pushing the inquiry forward.

On Friday, the committee filed a federal court petition asking a judge to order the release of key evidence: redacted portions of the Mueller Report, underlying transcripts, and grand jury testimony.

The petition asked for information revealing what the president knew about Russian election interference in 2016, contacts between Russia and the Trump campaign, and any criminal acts by him or any associates.

Read the full petition below.

At a press briefing Wednesday in Seattle, Jayapal said the committee is exercising its highest powers, as expressed in Article 1 of the Constitution, to start an impeachment process and hold the president accountable for attempting to obstruct Mueller’s investigation.

On top of investigating obstruction of justice, the House Judiciary Committee will look into potential violations of the emolument’s clause—which generally relates to gifts or payments to a U.S. official by a foreign government—along with other “financial doings of the Trump Administration,” Jayapal said.

The committee also wants to call witnesses, including former White House Counsel Don McGahn and former communications director Hope Hicks.

Getting the evidence underlying the Mueller Report is the first step of impeachment, the congresswoman said.

“We don’t need a full vote of the House,” Jayapal said. “What we are doing in the Judiciary Committee is determining whether or not we are going to recommend full articles of impeachment to the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Over 100 House Democrats support impeachment, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t on board yet.

“While some people have legitimate concerns about what happens if we move forward, I have really deeper concerns about what happens if we don’t,” Jayapal said. “What do we signal? That you can be in the White House and you can undermine the Constitution? That you can literally break the law that any other American would be prosecuted for?”

It's unclear how long the investigation will take, but the Department of Justice must respond to the committee’s request for the grand jury evidence by September 13.