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Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) today became the first Virginia Congressional representative to call for the impeachment of President Trump.

“The time has come for the House of Representatives to open an impeachment inquiry into the conduct of President Trump,” Beyer said in a statement.

“President Trump has shown utter contempt for the Constitution from the moment he took office, but we are now faced with evidence of actions that strongly resemble high crimes and misdemeanors. The behavior repeatedly identified in the redacted Mueller Report meets every standard for the classification of ‘obstruction of justice’ of which I am aware. He has compounded that fact by engaging in escalating, illegal stonewalling of Congress as my colleagues and I have attempted to engage in oversight, a primary responsibility of the legislative branch under the Constitution,” Beyer said.

Beyer said Trump’s alleged misdeeds are not limited to the issues covered in the Mueller Report.

“We are aware of other potential crimes committed by this President, including tax fraud and violations of campaign finance laws, both alleged under oath by his former attorney. Congress must investigate these allegations to determine their veracity, but the President’s illegal cover-up, most recently evidenced by his preventing the Secretary of the Treasury and the former White House Counsel from honoring Congressional subpoenas, leaves us little recourse to do so,” he said.

Impeachment calls increasing

Beyer is not alone. There are rising calls for an impeachment inquiry, many of them from some of the most important voices in the 235-member Democratic Caucus — from members of leadership and powerful committee chairmen to key Judiciary members who have jurisdiction over impeachment, The Hill noted in a report today.

“We’ve been presented with overwhelming evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), a member of Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) leadership team who also sits on the Judiciary Committee and is a constitutional law professor, according to the report.

Raskin had previously urged caution on impeachment, but now says an inquiry is necessary, The Hill said.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has been urging restraint but Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI) broke ranks with his fellow Republicans and called for Trump’s impeachment. The five-term Congressman said Sunday that Trump’s conduct was impeachable.

Beyer said Amash’s action “makes support for an impeachment inquiry bipartisan.” Beyer said he has “privately spoken to other Republicans who believe he is right but are unwilling to say so publicly.”

“The most important consideration for me in evaluating whether this course of action is correct has been the views of my constituents. Their belief in the need to launch an impeachment inquiry – as expressed to me in calls, letters, and conversations – has grown to a crescendo in recent weeks. I believe that my constituents are right, and I support the initiation of an impeachment inquiry to examine evidence of criminal acts committed by President Trump.”