Ex-Senate candidate: Impeach Obama if he acts on immigration

Rob Maness, the former Tea Party-backed Senate candidate in Louisiana, is calling for President Obama to be impeached, if he moves ahead with executive action on immigration. 

{mosads}Appearing on Newsmax TV in a video posted Tuesday, Maness was asked if he would call for impeachment if Obama went forward. 

“I would, yes. I would be calling for impeachment,” Maness replied. 

He later added that impeachment would be the only option.

“If he chooses to take an unconstitutional action, there really is not much other remedy in the Constitution other than the pathway of impeachment,” Maness said. “And somehow, a president must be held accountable, regardless of what party he or she is in, and that’s the remedy that is available to the Congress.”

Maness was eliminated from the Louisiana Senate election under its jungle primary system on Nov. 4. Republican Rep. Bill Cassidy and Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu are now facing off in a runoff on Dec. 6.

Republican leaders have dismissed impeachment in the past, but Reps. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) have also called for exploring it, if Obama goes forward with immigration action, which could come as early as this week.  

The order Obama is considering would reportedly expand a deferred deportation program, potentially allowing up to 5 million illegal immigrants to stay in the United States.