独立代表贾斯汀·阿玛什(Justin Amash)在周四众议院对一项决议进行投票之前，召集了他的共和党同事，该决议规定了民主党领导的弹劾调查的规则，他警告他们，在为唐纳德·特朗普总统辩护时，“历史看起来并不友好”。
阿玛什被描述为最保守的众议院议员被选为共和党人，但形式上宣称自己7月4日独立。在特别顾问罗伯特·穆勒关于特朗普2016年竞选和俄罗斯选举干预的报告发布后，这位密歇根州议员与绝大多数共和党议员分道扬镳。像许多民主党人一样，他相信报告显示总统已经从事可弹劾的行为。
美国代表贾斯汀·阿玛什(Justin Amash月28日在密歇根州大急流城举行市政厅会议。
随着众议院民主党上月发起正式弹劾调查，阿玛什一直是国会中支持调查的孤独保守派。
“这位总统只会执政很短时间，但是原谅他的不当行为将永远玷污你的名声，”他说周四发推特。“对我的共和党同事们:走出你们的媒体和社会泡沫。历史不会仁慈地看待这个人虚伪、轻浮和虚假的辩护。”
尽管阿玛什和民主党人敦促，众议院弹劾规则的投票还是沿着党派路线通过，232人赞成，196人反对。所有共和党代表投票反对该决议，只有三人弃权。几乎所有民主党人都投了赞成票，除了两名国会议员他们选择不投票表决这项决议。众议院唯一的独立议员阿玛什和民主党一起投了赞成票。
阿玛什的参谋长波比·纳尔逊告诉记者新闻周刊通过电子邮件得知，决议通过后，阿玛什的“投票前推特仍然有效”。
周三，阿玛什还在推特上发表了他对总统及其支持者的批评。“我们宣誓支持和捍卫宪法，而不是支持和捍卫唐纳德·特朗普滥用总统职位。”他写道。
阿玛什在7月宣布脱离共和党独立书写在a华盛顿邮报 op-ed近几年来，他“对政党政治不再抱有幻想”,并对其中所见感到“恐惧”。
“我要求你相信我们能比这种两党制做得更好....如果我们继续把美国视为理所当然，我们将失去它，”他警告说。
特朗普否认阿玛什当时离开共和党，称这对共和党来说是“好消息”，并称这位保守派议员是“国会中最愚蠢”和“最不忠诚的人”之一
FORMER GOP REP. JUSTIN AMASH SLAMS REPUBLICANS: 'HISTORY WILL NOT LOOK KINDLY' ON 'FALSE DEFENSES' OF TRUMP
Independent Representative Justin Amash called out his Republican colleagues ahead of Thursday's House vote on a resolution laying out the rules for the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry, warning them that "history will not look kindly" on their defenses of President Donald Trump.
Amash, who has been described as one of the most conservative members of the House, was elected as a Republican but formally declared himself an independent on July 4. The Michigan congressman parted ways with the vast majority of GOP lawmakers following the release of special counsel Robert Mueller's report regarding Trump's 2016 campaign and Russian election interference. Like many Democrats, he believed the report showed that the president had engaged in impeachable conduct.
U.S. Representative Justin Amash holds a town hall meeting on May 28 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
With the House Democrats' launch of a formal impeachment inquiry last month, Amash has been a lonely conservative voice in Congress supporting the investigation.
"This president will be in power for only a short time, but excusing his misbehavior will forever tarnish your name," he tweeted on Thursday. "To my Republican colleagues: Step outside your media and social bubble. History will not look kindly on disingenuous, frivolous, and false defenses of this man."
Despite the urging by Amash and Democrats, the impeachment rules vote in the House passed along partisan lines, with 232 in favor and 196 opposed. All GOP representatives voted against the resolution, except for three who abstained. Almost all Democrats voted in favor, except for two congressmen who chose not to vote on the resolution. Amash, the chamber's lone independent, voted "yes" along with Democrats.
Amash's chief of staff, Poppy Nelson, told Newsweek via email that Amash's "pre-vote tweet still stands" following the resolution's passage.
On Wednesday, Amash also tweeted his criticism of the president and his defenders. "We swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution, not an oath to support and defend Donald Trump's abuse of the office of the presidency," he wrote.
In declaring his independence from the Republican Party in July, Amash wrote in a Washington Post op-ed that in recent years he had "become disenchanted with party politics" and "frightened" by what he saw in it.
"I'm asking you to believe that we can do better than this two-party system.... If we continue to take America for granted, we will lose it," he warned.
Trump dismissed Amash's departure from the GOP at the time, saying it was "great news" for the Republican Party and referring to the conservative lawmaker as one of the "dumbest" and "most disloyal men in Congress."
