Elissa Slotkin justifies impeachment inquiry to pro-Trump constituents

Elissa Slotkin

U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, held a town hall with constituents Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019 at Cromaine Library in Hartland Township, Michigan. (Malachi Barrett | MLive.com)

HARTLAND TOWNSHIP, MI -- Constituents from a rural area that strongly supports President Donald Trump said they were growing to like U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Holly, until she supported an impeachment inquiry.

More than 100 people crowded into a historic Hartland Township library Thursday to hear Slotkin’s justification for what some called a “coup” against Trump, who marshaled 61% of the vote in the surrounding county. Slotkin said Congress has a responsibility to determine whether the president should be removed from office for asking a foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden, the Democratic primary front-runner.

“The issue that got to me was this idea that the president, the most powerful man in the world, reached out to a foreign leader and asked him to dig up dirt on an American,” Slotkin said.

Constituents applauded her work to lower prescription drug prices, prevent the proliferation of toxic PFAS contaminants, and work a bipartisan federal infrastructure bill, but the town hall turned contentious when Slotkin explained her decision to reverse course on impeachment. Slotkin remained level-headed throughout the hour-long forum, which earned the praise of some supporters who thanked Slotkin for her effort to appear in places she may be unpopular.

“I knew that it was going to be an issue back here at home, but I made that decision because sometimes there are some moments in life beyond politics and I felt this moment was that,” Slotkin said.

Slotkin does not serve on any of the House committees tasked with holding hearings and issuing subpoenas during the impeachment inquiry. Through her joint letter with six other House Democrats with national security backgrounds kicked off a wave of Democratic support for an investigation, Slotkin said she has no role to play in the inquiry.

“The inquiry is literally collecting information to get a bigger picture and add some breadth and depth to what the president acknowledged,” Slotkin said.

Toward the end of the event, Slotkin told constituents she is waiting for the facts to come out before deciding whether Trump should be removed from office.

“You have my commitment that I have not made a decision, that I will look at the facts as they come and I will do what my conscience calls me to do,” she said.

The congresswoman’s description of Trump’s behavior was immediately met with retorts of “not true” and “fake news” from Meshawn Maddock, co-founder of Michigan Trump Republicans and a national advisor for the president’s “Women for Trump” coalition.

Maddock said Trump is merely trying to root out corrupt Democrats, and Biden should face an investigation for allegedly removing a prosecutor who was looking into an energy company that employed the former vice president’s son.

“Here’s the thing: So I have no special knowledge about the former vice president or his son,” Slotkin said. “But if you’re the president of the United States and you have concerns that an American citizen is involved in something bad, you go to the FBI. You go to American law enforcement. You don’t go to a foreign leader.”

Constituents wearing red “Make America Great Again” hats scoffed at the suggestion, saying the president can’t trust the FBI.

“Trump is just being Trump,” said Norm Shinkle, a 58-year-old Republican. “He says, ‘hey, we got a former vice president trying to fire a prosecutor, tell us about it.’ That’s all he said. It’s not impeachable.”

Cindy Beach, a 52-year-old Howell resident, said it doesn’t make sense to pursue a lengthy impeachment process with the 2020 election only a year away. Beach, who didn’t vote for Slotkin, said taxpayer resources were already wasted on U.S. Special Counsel’s investigation into 2016 election interference.

Slotkin did not support an impeachment inquiry based on the findings of that report. Slotkin, who flipped a red district in 2018, presents herself as a pragmatic moderate.

She previously said her politically split constituency wants Slotkin’s focus to stay on bipartisan issues. Some constituents said they didn’t vote for Slotkin, but were starting to come around to her before the impeachment inquiry was announced.

“I’m really surprised she jumped on board with this for no reason actually because I think Rep. Slotkin usually does go by facts,” Beach said.

Dane Morris, a 69-year-old retired teacher, said Trump feeds Republicans in the deeply red township with lies and misinformation. He was glad to see Slotkin appear in person, she’s the first sitting member of Congress to visit Hartford Township that he can remember.

The word “coup” was used several times by constituents to describe the impeachment inquiry. Slotkin took issue with the language.

“A coup is when the US military tries to take over over the executive branch, the presidency, and I just don’t think there’s any indication that our U.S. military is involved in any way, in anything like that,” she said.

Democrats Elizabeth Eccard and Jackie Stiner shook their heads when other constituents accused Slotkin of trying to overthrow the president. Eccard said Republicans have been “brainwashed” by cable news.

The mood at Thursday’s town hall was a stark contrast to a similar event Slotkin held in East Lansing a day earlier. A spokesperson said a coffee hour with constituents was cut short because the venue was at capacity. Though roughly a dozen pro-Trump protesters appeared at the event, the spokesperson said, most attendees were Slotkin supporters.

Slotkin and U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Holly, have faced increasing attacks from Republicans after supporting impeachment.

Protesters attended a town hall Stevens held Tuesday to discuss gun control. A spokesperson said the freshman congresswoman, who also flipped a Republican district in 2018, said Stevens is staying focused on Michigan issues like training students to fill skilled trades and manufacturing jobs.

The Republican National Committee launched a fundraising drive that splits proceeds with a fund for GOP challengers in Slotkin’s and Stevens’ districts. The National Republican Congressional Committee also launched Facebook ads and is fundraising off the “politically fatal” decision to back impeachment.

“In supporting impeachment, Slotkin and Stevens have sided with radical democrats instead of focusing on the issues facing their districts," said Michigan Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Cox. "These protests show that the people of Michigan would rather their representatives do their jobs than partake in partisan witch hunts that are a waste of taxpayer dollars.”

The Michigan Republican Party did not answer whether it is involved in organizing protesters at the congresswomen’s events this week.

Two Republicans have stepped forward to challenge Slotkin in 2020 -- Michigan State Board of Education member Nikki Snyder and Howell resident Mike Detmer.

Meanwhile, Slotkin’s reelection campaign announced it is continuing to post solid fundraising numbers. The campaign said it raised $800,000 in the third fiscal quarter of the year, gathering $2.1 million so far this cycle.

“All I can do is explain myself and walk people through how I came to a very weighty decision, and I hope that even if they don’t agree with me, at least they understand how I came to the decision and why," Slotkin said. “I had over $11 million of attack ads run against me last time and I think for a lot of people, they just feel nasty and part and parcel of the tone in Washington and I hope other people see beyond those.”

Eccard and Stiner said Slotkin did a good job explaining herself to constituents, even when tensions flared.

“That’s what I can’t understand: why can’t we get along?” Stiner said.

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