During his closing argument Thursday night, CNN host Chris Cuomo gave the Democrats a pep talk as they ponder what to do regarding impeachment. In addition to repeatedly begging the Congressional Democrats to “do your duty,” Cuomo made an effort to tie the idea of impeachment proceedings to the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Cuomo opened his closing monologue by complaining that Democrats “are making this all too complicated. They are collectively Hamlet, pondering to be the party of impeachment or not to be.” Cuomo urged Democrats to get Special Counsel Robert Mueller “in the chair,” adding “look what an impact he had in just ten minutes.” Cuomo was referring to Mueller’s press conference last week, which breathed new life into the impeachment dream despite not sharing any information not already available to the American public in his 448-page report.
The CNN host predicted that “Mueller’s also going to help because he is also going to lay out all the different things that they found. It won’t be you saying it, it will be him saying it. People trust him.” Cuomo told the Democrats that following Mueller’s testimony on Capitol Hill, “You’ve got to make a call.” Cuomo implored the Democrats: “Enough with the talk. Do your duty. That is the reason to be. That is the point of your existence. Our Constitution makes it clear.”
Like many others in the media, Cuomo proceeded to politicize D-Day. While Whoopi Goldberg tried to tie D-Day to the illegal immigration debate and Bill Nye used D-Day as an excuse to push for stronger action on climate change, Cuomo used D-Day to push for impeachment; telling Congressional Democrats: “Do your duty. This is D-Day. We’re celebrating people making the ultimate sacrifice only out of a matter of duty.”
After reading aloud Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution, which talks about impeachment, Cuomo told the Democrats: “It is time to stop acting out of fear of consequence and act on good conscience.” Cuomo then pondered whether Congressman Jerry Nadler’s proposed “impeachment inquiry” would be a better route to take. According to Cuomo, an “impeachment inquiry” would not include “official proceedings” like actual articles of impeachment but the real deal in terms of maximal effective force of Congress in the courts.”
Cuomo attempted to portray himself as neutral on the question of impeachment, stressing to Democrats: “your job is to check the executive, whether to do that or not, or how, that’s up to you.” His attempt to display objectivity comes across as laughable since he spent his entire monologue practically begging them to go for impeachment.
A transcript of the relevant portion of Thursday’s edition of Cuomo Prime Time is below. Click “expand” to read more.
Cuomo Prime Time
06/06/19
09:56 PM
CHRIS CUOMO: All right. Here’s my argument. I think the Democrats are making this all too complicated. They are collectively Hamlet, pondering to be the party of impeachment or not to be. And just like Hamlet, they’re torn on their existence because they’re not sure what comes next. What if they launch an inquiry but never propose articles of impeachment? What if they impeach but the Senate swats it away? Is it a waste to do any of this if there will be no removal? All right, those are the questions. Two points, first, get Mueller in the chair. Look what an impact he had in just ten minutes and remember, he said nothing new, not a word of it. It was all everything that was in the report. But no one’s reading the report. And even if they had, hearing me say what he said versus hearing it from him directly has impact. Okay? That will be helpful. Get that done. Now, Mueller’s also going to help because he is going to lay out all the different things that they found. It won’t be you saying it. It will be him saying it. People trust him. And another bonus, the GOP is going to go after him about the origins of the investigation. You can bet on that. That wasn’t his responsibility. Remember, he inherited the FBI’s work to that point so it’s not going to be very satisfying and he’s no one to mess with. But the people will get this look and listen and it will be the best one yet, about what the President said and did and asked of others, what it means legally, and ethically. Second, then you’ve got to make a call. Enough with the talk. Do your duty. That is your reason to be. That is the point of your existence. Our Constitution makes it clear. “The House of Representatives shall choose their Speaker and other Officers; and shall have the sole Power of Impeachment.” Sole power means what it sounds like. This is up to you, no one else, no other body. That’s what the Constitution’s about, checks and balances. They either function or they don’t. It is time to stop acting out of fear of consequence, and act on good conscience. Will Democrats be satisfied with months of stymied efforts and more than ten different investigations moving in different and often confounding directions? But the White House that can stymy the efforts, who knows how long, basically showing that concentrated resistance trumps the Constitution. Is that the message you want on your watch? You’ve got one in four Democrats in the House that want to take the next step. It’s not that much. We put up all those pictures, it looks impressive. But it isn’t. This won’t be an easy call. It is instructive that almost every one of the people running to be your nominee in the next election for President are in favor of taking this step. Remember, they’re going to pay the biggest price if this is judged to be a bad or just political move. So maybe the best answer is what Chairman Nadler is arguing: an impeachment inquiry; not official proceedings. You’re not going to put down the articles of impeachment, you’re not looking to charge but it’s the real deal in terms of maximal effective force of Congress in the courts. Consolidate all the efforts into one committee, and then get it done quickly and don’t you show boat. Let the other committees work on the myriad matters of importance to the American people. Where it leads, how it ends, you can’t know, and that should not be your guide. Do your duty. This is D-Day. We’re celebrating people making the ultimate sacrifice only out of a matter of duty. Take a look at the Constitution. Your job is to check the executive, whether to do that or not or how, that’s up to you but you’ve got to make a decision. People will punish you doing nothing or going in different directions at once and rightly so. Mr. Mueller seemed to suggest that he found things in his report that required your oversight. Get him up there. Let it be clear for the American people and then you make a decision about what your duty is here and you do it.
