Trump supporters challenge state rep's stance on impeachment

Oct. 2--DANVERS -- During a Town Hall gathering Tuesday night, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton sparred with a couple of supporters of President Donald Trump who appeared upset and indignant with the three-term Democratic congressman's outspoken pro-impeachment stance.

Moulton, a Harvard-educated decorated Marine Corps Iraq War veteran, fielded various questions from constituents about climate change and the need to elect more Democrats to Congress during a standing room gathering of about 75 people at the Danvers Senior Center on Stone Street.

However, it was a back and forth with two women sitting in the front row, Denise Hansen of Beverly, who wore a red Trump hat and T-shirt, and Sandie Sienkiewicz of Topsfield, that dominated the first part of the hour-long gathering. The exchange was sparked by Peabody resident Bob Skylstad, who held up a copy of the Mueller report regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election and a copy of the U.S.Constitution.

Skylstad said he read the Mueller report "through and through" and said it points to Trump being guilty of obstruction of justice, and that while Trump should have his day in court, "he needs to be held accountable."

"We cannot let that pass and there seems to be a lot of rhetoric that, that this is a nothing burger. Well, it's very substantial, led by a team of highly capable lawyers," said Skylstad, a veteran.

Moulton noted that the oath he swore to protect and defend the Constitution when he was sworn into office was the same one he took when he joined the Marines.

"And one of the principles embodied in that oath is that nobody in America is above the law," said Moulton, saying that "that the president has used the power of the presidency to coerce foreign leaders into interfering in our election, after denying that election interference occurred, contradicting every single agency in the United States government."

At that point, the women piped up and asked about former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

It's allegations about corruption in this relationship that were at the center of Trump's line of inquiry to the new Ukrainian president in a July phone call, a readout of which helped spark an impeachment inquiry in Congress. The matter came to light through a whistleblower whose complaint that was apparently squelched by the Trump administration at first, according to various reports.

Moulton and other Democrats contend Trump withheld hundreds of millions in military aid to Ukraine in exchange for information about the Bidens to influence the 2020 election.

"I would like an example where President Trump is encouraging election interference and be very specific," Sienkiewicz said. "I want an example."

"We have two," Moulton said.

"Give 'em," Sienkiewicz said.

"One, with the prime minister of Australia which just came out yesterday," Moulton said about reports that Trump wanted help with information on the origins of the Russia probe, "and the second with the president of Ukraine." Sienkiewicz then produced a transcript of the Trump call with the Ukrainian president and asked him to point out where it said Trump was interfering in the election.

"Ma'am, with all due respect," Moulton said, "if you can't see that in what the president said, then I don't know what you are missing," he said to applause as Sienkiewicz, who continued to challenge Moulton to "find it."

When he asked for a show of hands from those who think the interference charge was obvious from the transcript, nearly everyone in the room raised their hands.

As Sienkiewicz continued to filibuster, a man in the crowd shouted: "moving on." Moulton said he was being respectful of her, but his goal was to try and answer the Peabody veteran's question.

Sienkiewicz insisted the Mueller report took place a long time ago.

"Well, you are up there saying things that are not true," she insisted.

"I don't know anything more treasonous that's happened, than any president of the United States has done, than what we have seen here, that has been reported at great risk by a CIA professional who we should be praising for his service to the country."

"Who's the whistleblower? Who?" asked Hansen. "Why don't you go after Biden and the crooked Biden and Hillary and McCabe and Comey, why don't you go after them," she asked.

At one point, when challenged, Hansen insisted she had read the second section of the Mueller report, and repeated: "There's no collusion." She later admitted she had not read the report, but had listened to media reports about it.

"And you know what, we are not going to prove this argument with your Trump hat and telling lies, including lying to this gentlemen that you read the report when you just told me that you haven't," Moulton said.

"Look, this is a difficult time in American history when there are an awful lot of strong feelings on both sides, but what we ought to be able to come back to is that the rule of the law, the Constitution of the United States, applies to everybody ... And that includes the president of the United States. And you know what, if the president is innocent, then let that be shown."

Moulton said there was no moral equivalency between the allegations against Biden and those against Trump, and if supporters are confident Trump is innocent, they should let the investigation proceed.

Moulton has been in favor of an impeachment inquiry since the end of 2017, and he said he has taken a lot of heat for his stance. However, what changed the mood of the Democratic caucus was seven freshmen members of the House with national security backgrounds who flipped districts from red to blue, all of whom Moulton backed in 2018. It was their coming out in favor of an inquiry that turned the tide.

Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@gloucestertimes.com or on Twitter at @TannerSalemNews.

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