Urrutia calls for impeaching Trump, three cabinet heads | State | unionleader.com

First Congressional District Democratic candidate Christian Urrutia of Moultonborough said if elected, he’d vote to impeach President Donald Trump and at least three other top Cabinet officials for corruption and abuse of power.

Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick have all been guilty of transgressions that warrant their impeachment along with Trump, said Urrutia, a former Pentagon official in the Obama administration.

“The President and his administration are using public power to enrich themselves, monetarily reward allies, punish enemies through the use of government authority, or place themselves above the law,” Urrutia said. “That is not politics. It is corruption, abuse of power, and a perversion of the public trust. Congress must use its impeachment powers to hold this administration accountable.”

Many Democratic candidates in this wide-open primary have been harshly critical of Noem’s leadership.

Stefany Shaheen of Portsmouth recently said Noem’s actions in leading Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been “reckless” and that she is “disqualified and needs to go.”

“This violence must end. This is NOT making our communities safer. ICE needs to leave Minnesota and Maine immediately and Kristi Noem needs to be impeached,” Shaheen said after a second Minnesota protestor was shot to death by ICE agents.

Maura Sullivan of Portsmouth came out in strong opposition to the proposed Merrimack ICE facility and has sharply criticized ICE crackdowns in Minnesota, Maine and other states.

Growing group of House Dems seek Noem’s impeachment

State Rep. Heath Howard, D-Strafford, Sarah Chadzynski of Goffstown and Urrutia have all said they would vote to disband ICE and Carleigh Beriont of Hampton said she wouldn’t vote for funding for “any agency, ICE or otherwise, that violates the rights of the people.”

Late last month, 140 U.S. House Democrats signed a resolution supporting Noem’s impeachment.

Urrutia became the first candidate in this race to articulate a case for instituting removal proceedings for Trump and multiple members of his team.

Urrutia said Trump should be impeached for abuse of presidential power and self-enrichment, weaponizing the Department of Justice and abusing civil liberties.

Noem’s work turning ICE into a quasi-military force that denied innocent people due process is what calls for her removal, he said.

Bondi and Lutnick have both violated the Constitution regarding statements about the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the AG for failing for months to fully release the Epstein files and Lutnick for not being truthful about meetings he had with Epstein after his 2008 conviction and that the two later had business dealings, Urrutia said.

“I will fight for investigations with real teeth to fully expose what is already apparent, the Trump Administration has purposefully engaged in systematic lawlessness, corruption, and abuse of power,” Urrutia said.

“History teaches us that free nations rarely fall all at once. They erode when corruption is excused, when power goes unexamined, and when the law is bent to serve the powerful. We are facing that moment, Congress must act.”

The Republican State Committee did not respond to a request for comment.