WASHINGTON -- The conviction of Paul Manafort and the guilty pleas by Michael Cohen, if anything, "are a step towards draining the swamp," U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said Thursday.
U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Ark., on the other hand, accused Robert Mueller of straying from his initial task and called for the special prosecutor to wrap things up.
Democrats said the fall of Manafort, President Donald Trump's former campaign manager, and of Cohen, Trump's former attorney, show that the swamp is alive and well in the Trump era. One Democratic congressional candidate said impeachment may be necessary.
Trump promised during his presidential campaign that he would "drain the swamp," calling for lobbying and ethics changes, and ridding Washington of insiders.
In an interview Thursday, Cotton voiced little sympathy for either of the defendants, but noted that the convictions weren't related to collusion with Russia.
"Frankly, Paul Manafort looks like he engaged in some serious pretty wrongdoing in terms of influence peddling and tax fraud and bank fraud. Michael Cohen, too, engaged in serious wrongdoing of tax fraud and bank fraud. So, if anything, these convictions are a step towards draining the swamp," said Cotton, a Republican from Dardanelle.
Asked whether the decision to pick the two men to work with reflected poorly on the president, Cotton said he wouldn't have offered them jobs.
"Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen are not the men that I would have picked for the conduct they've now revealed but also for the conduct that they were long suspected of. So, these were not the president's best picks, but he's gotten much better ones since then. I thought Kellyanne Conway was a much better campaign manager, and I think he's got a good team of lawyers surrounding him now," Cotton said.
Crawford expressed impatience with the special counsel and the length of Mueller's investigation into possible Russian collusion. The investigation has been underway for 15 months.
When told that the Whitewater investigation had lasted longer, Crawford said: "I don't think it's appropriate for me to comment on Whitewater or Ken Starr. I wasn't anywhere near Washington when that was going on, and I'm not going to make any comparison."
(The Whitewater investigation conducted primarily by then independent counsel Kenneth Starr during President Bill Clinton's administration stretched from January 1994 to September 2000 -- nearly six years.)
While Manafort and Cohen should be held accountable for illegal activity, Mueller needs to stay in his lane, said Crawford, a Republican from Jonesboro.
"Robert Mueller is tasked with doing [a] Russia collusion investigation, and what he ended up doing was prosecuting some individuals on charges that had nothing to do with Russia collusion," Crawford said. "When is he going to come forward with any Russia collusion? If he's got it, that's fine. Let's see it. If he doesn't, then I think it's time to wrap this thing up."
Chintan Desai, Crawford's Democratic challenger in the 1st Congressional District, portrayed Crawford as an apologist for the White House and an agent of the status quo.
"It's been clear for a long time that he's on Team Washington, Team Trump," Desai said.
Asked whether he believes the president should be impeached, Desai said, "I think that's something that needs to absolutely be strongly considered at this point."
"We've got the president's private attorney [swearing] under oath that the president directed him to break federal law and to lie to the American public about pertinent information prior to the 2016 election. To me that is a fraud on the American public," the educator from Helena-West Helena said. "We once held President Clinton accountable for deceiving the public. I don't think things should be any different for President Trump."
State Rep. Clarke Tucker, D-Little Rock, who is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. French Hill in the 2nd Congressional District, said Cohen's guilty plea and Manafort's conviction are "indicative of the problem of corruption in politics generally."
Asked whether Cohen's plea should prompt impeachment proceedings, Tucker said lawmakers need to follow the evidence wherever it leads.
Congress, though, has abdicated its duty as a check and balance on the executive branch, Tucker said. That's a key role no matter who occupies the White House, he said.
A spokesman for Hill said Thursday that the Republican from Little Rock would not have time to comment. But in a written statement, Hill expressed confidence in the Justice Department and the federal court system.
"No one is above the law, and Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen are no exception. We need to follow the facts where they lead, but I'm pleased to hear that there was no evidence found of Russia collusion," Hill stated.
Hayden Shamel, the Hot Springs Democrat vying for the 4th Congressional District seat, said she didn't think it was quite time for Congress to start impeachment proceedings, but she called for Mueller's investigation to continue.
"It's Congress' job to provide checks and balances on the president," Shamel said in a Thursday interview. "What we're seeing more and more everyday is evidence that points to the fact that we have an administration that's deeply involved in unethical practices."
The latest revelations don't reflect well on Trump, she said.
She plans to keep her focus on "everyday issues" such as health insurance and wages, she said.
"They say you are who your friends are, and he has certainly surrounded himself with people who we now see convicted of tax evasion and bank fraud," she said. "If that's what draining the swamp is then I think the American public deserves better."
A spokesman for Shamel's Republican opponent, U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Hot Springs, said the incumbent could not be reached for comment.
Josh Mahony, the Fayetteville Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Steve Womack for Arkansas' 3rd Congressional District seat, said this week's revelations are simply the latest example of how Washington, D.C., is broken.
"There are too many career politicians and career lobbyists in D.C.," he said in a Thursday interview. "And we're seeing more fallout from that."
It's premature to discuss impeachment while Mueller's investigation is still ongoing, he said.
"I don't want to jump the gun on that," Mahony said. "That's a very serious conversation."
Womack, a Republican from Rogers, couldn't be reached for comment, his spokeswoman said.
U.S. Sen. John Boozman, another Republican from Rogers, was also unavailable for comment, a spokesman said.
Michael John Gray, chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, said the conviction of Manafort and admissions of guilt by Cohen show that the allegations of illegal conduct are "not just conspiracy theories and rumors."
"It's frustrating regardless of which side of the partisan aisle you fall down on to see stuff like this involving the presidency," he added.
Hal Bass, a political science professor emeritus at Ouachita Baptist University, said the latest court developments don't help Arkansas Republicans but probably won't hurt them enough to matter.
"I think that views on Donald Trump in Arkansas are reasonably well congealed on both sides, support and opposition, with far more support than opposition," he said.
"I do think that the broad issue of corruption is something Democrats are going to push. I just don't know how much traction it's going to have in congressional races when Trump's not on the ballot himself," Bass said. "I think it may move the needle, but not enough to change the outcome" of the state's midterm elections.
A Section on 08/24/2018