GAINING STEAM

Republican Rep. Mark Amodei Backs Probe Into Trump-Ukraine Scandal

The Nevada representative withheld his judgement on whether or not Trump broke the law, however.

Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) says he supports an investigation into the concerns raised about President Trump's call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though he is withholding his judgement on whether Trump broke the law. “Let’s put it through the process and see what happens,” he told The Nevada Independent on Friday. “I’m a big fan of oversight, so let’s let the committees get to work and see where it goes.” He declined to tell reporters if he thought Trump had committed any impeachable offenses, but said it would be a “problem” if it was “proven” that Trump used government agencies to “put (his) finger on the scale of an election.” Regarding Trump's call with the Ukrainian president, Amodei said he didn't know if it was “a smoking gun.” “I think that’s why we have the committee process... Part of what the committees will do is try to find some context for that and then based on what a fair reading of the context is, they’ll go forward from there,” he said.

In a statement later Friday, Amodei clarified that he had not indicated his support for impeachment. “Anyone who reads (The Nevada Independent) article and thinks that somehow there is a vote to convict before the process has played out—as called for by the resolution unanimously supported by everyone concerned—is simply, individual fantasy,” he wrote.