A Republican congressman has accused Donald Trump of 'engaging in impeachable conduct'.
The Michigan lawmaker Justin Amash says he reached the conclusion after 'carefully' reading special counsel Robert Mueller's report.
He also claimed US Attorney General William Barr 'deliberately misrepresented' Mueller's report.
CNN reports that Mr Amash is the first sitting Republican in Congress to call for Trump's impeachment.
The first public details of the special counsel's findings emerged in a summary released by Mr Barr.
Mr Mueller's investigation focused on alleged Russian meddling in the US 2016 presidential election.
It found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.
The redacted report, released last month, also outlines a series episodes relating to Donald Trump and potential obstruction of justice.
It "does not conclude that the President committed a crime", but also does not exonerate him.
Democrats have claimed there were 'stark differences' between the initial summary and the report itself.
In a lengthy Twitter thread last night, Justin Amash sharply criticised both President Trump and Mr Barr.
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.— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
Mr Amash said: "Mueller’s report reveals that President Trump engaged in specific actions and a pattern of behavior that meet the threshold for impeachment.
"Mueller’s report identifies multiple examples of conduct satisfying all the elements of obstruction of justice, and undoubtedly any person who is not the president of the United States would be indicted based on such evidence."
On the subject of the attorney general, Mr Amash added: "Barr’s misrepresentations are significant but often subtle, frequently taking the form of sleight-of-hand qualifications or logical fallacies, which he hopes people will not notice."
He claimed that few members of Congress read the 448-page Mueller report and instead made up their minds "based on partisan affiliation".
We’ve witnessed members of Congress from both parties shift their views 180 degrees—on the importance of character, on the principles of obstruction of justice—depending on whether they’re discussing Bill Clinton or Donald Trump.
— Justin Amash (@justinamash) May 18, 2019
In the wake of the Mueller report, a number of high-profile Democrats have called for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump - including 2020 presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren.
However, Democratic leaders such as Nancy Pelosi have opposed such a move.
In the wake of Mr Amash's remarks, Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib - who also represents Michigan - called on the Republican to back an impeachment investigation resolution:
.@justinamash come find me in 1628 Longworth. I’ve got an impeachment investigation resolution you’re going to want to cosponsor. https://t.co/KabQTDn1Zq
— Rashida Tlaib (@RashidaTlaib) May 18, 2019
