Michigan Rep. Justin Amash becomes first Republican to call for Trump's impeachment

US Representative from Michigan, Justin Amash, on Saturday (local time) said he believed that President Donald Trump has engaged in "impeachable conduct," becoming the first politician of his party to call for removing the president from his party.

The Michigan representative also accused Attorney General William Barr of "deliberately" misleading the public over the actual content of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference into the 2016 US Presidential elections.

In a Twitter thread on Saturday, Amash said he believed "few members of Congress even read" special counsel Robert Mueller's report and that the report itself established "multiple examples" of Trump committing obstruction of justice.

"Here are my principal conclusions: 1. Attorney General Barr has deliberately misrepresented Mueller's report. 2. President Trump has engaged in impeachable conduct. 3. Partisanship has eroded our system of checks and balances. 4. Few members of Congress have read the report," Amash said on Twitter.

"Under our Constitution, the president "shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors." While "high Crimes and Misdemeanors" is not defined, the context implies conduct that violates the public trust.

"Contrary to Barr's portrayal, Mueller's report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behaviour that meet the threshold for impeachment," he added.

Last month, Barr, on his part, had concluded that the report established no conspiracy between Trump and Russia and that he and then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein did not believe its findings sufficient to charge Trump with obstruction of justice.

While many Democrats have called for impeachment proceedings against Trump, many members from the Republican Party have agreed with Trump's assertions about the Mueller report and defended his conduct, CNN reported.

Last Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was quoted as saying that "every day gives grounds for impeachment," in a veiled reference to Trump.

Democrat Rashida Tlaib, also of Michigan, responded to Amash's Twitter thread later Saturday and invited him to join her impeachment resolution.

".@justinamash come find me in 1628 Longworth. I've got an impeachment investigation resolution you're going to want to cosponsor," Tlaib tweeted.