Rep. Pramila Jayapal calls for hearing on Trump sexual misconduct allegations
Freshman Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington, is calling on the House to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct against President Trump.
"We suggested that the Judiciary Committee should have a hearing on this, and we should bring forward those women who have put forward these allegations," she said on the latest episode of "The Takeout" podcast, with CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Major Garrett and Political Director Steve Chaggaris. "We should have a real hearing on that," she insists.
Since the 2016 presidential campaign, least 13 women -- including three women who renewed their accusations against President Trump at a press conference Monday -- are hoping the #MeToo movement will revive interest in their allegations against Mr. Trump of sexual misconduct spanning decades.
Jayapal, who was one of the first members of the House to call on colleague, fellow Democrat, Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) to resign after sexual misconduct accusations were also leveled at him, believes it's time to take a hard look at the allegations against the occupant of the highest office in the land.
The argument against this, put forward by White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, who has been asked about this by reporters on several occasions, is essentially that the accusations against Mr. Trump came out while the campaign was in full swing, and voters did have the opportunity to pass judgment -- they voted to elect him president.
To that, Jayapal counters, "I don't think it is a standard that should be looked at in elections. I really don't."
"The reason this is roiling every industry – not just Congress but the media, Hollywood, everywhere, business, is because I think women see what the president is doing - see what Republicans have allowed him to do, see what Democrats have allowed to have happen in the past," she argued. "This is not a Republican, Democratic issue."
Jayapal said she has been working with Republican women on the issue, and respects UN Ambassador Nikki Haley's assertion that all women accusing President Trump of allegations should be heard.
"We're just tired of it," Jayapal said. "It is not acceptable, and we should not be trying to sort of parse this kind of groping is okay, but that kind of pedophilia is not," which is the argument that Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has also been making. "It needs to stop, and we need a different standard."
For more from Major and Steve's conversation with Rep. Pramila Jayapal, including her reaction to Roy Moore's loss in Alabama, and What she did when a fellow congressman once called publically called her "young lady" and said she "doesn't know a damn thing" about what she's talking about..., download "The Takeout" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Stitcher, or Spotify. New episodes are available every Friday morning.
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