WASHINGTON (AP) — A California Democrat filed an article of impeachment against President Donald Trump Wednesday in a longshot bid to remove the president from office. Rep. Brad Sherman accuses Trump of obstructing investigations into Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election, in part by firing former FBI Director James Comey. Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is “the first step on a very long road.”

“But if the impulsive incompetency continues, then eventually — many, many months from now — Republicans will join the impeachment effort,” Sherman said in a statement. Democratic leaders have distanced themselves from the efforts to impeach Trump , believing it serves only to energize the president's supporters. Sherman acknowledges that filing the article is “the first step on a very long road.”

He has one co-sponsor, fellow Democrat Al Green of Texas. A few minutes ago, Donald Trump’s new lawyer appeared on CNN to insist that there is nothing remarkable to Donald Trump Jr.’s admission that he eagerly affirmed to Russian contacts that the Trump for President campaign would “love” to cooperate with the efforts of government of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to interfere with elections in the USA. An intermediary for the lawyer promised damaging information from the Russian government about Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Representative Brad Sherman files the first articles for the formal impeachment of Donald Trump in his position of President of the United States.