House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces impeachment inquiry over President Donald Trump’s efforts to get Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden.
USA TODAY
WASHINGTON— As House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry into President Trump’s contact with the Ukrainian president, multiple 2020 Democratic presidential candidates switched their view on where they stand with impeachment or reiterated their belief that impeachment is the right path.
Here are where the 2020 Democratic candidates currently stand on impeaching the president:
Michael Bennet
The senator from Colorado has called for more investigation into the president’s conduct and said Tuesday night that the “House is right to launch an impeachment inquiry … This administration cannot hide the truth.”
Joe Biden
The former vice president has been trading words with Trump over the controversy, and on Tuesday called on Congress to begin impeachment proceedings if Trump does not comply with all of Congress’ request for information about the July call Trump had with Ukraine’s president.
“It’s time for this administration to stop stonewalling and provide the Congress with all the facts it needs,” Biden said. “It’s time for the Congress to fully investigate the conduct of this president. The president should stop stonewalling this investigation and all the other investigations into his alleged wrongdoing. Using its full Constitutional authority, Congress in my view should demand the information it has a legal right to receive.”
Cory Booker
The senator from New Jersey said Pelosi’s move forward is “our one remaining path to ensuring justice is served,” and has been a long time supporter of impeachment.
Steve Bullock
The Montana governor called on Congress to demand the whistleblower’s complaint that has in part led to the impeachment inquiry, saying in a statement if “they don’t get it, I see no other option than starting impeachment proceedings.”
Pete Buttigieg
The South Bend, Indiana, mayor continued his previously stated support of impeachment, using the news Tuesday to encourage his supporters to register to vote on National Registration Day via twitter.
Julián Castro
The former Housing and Urban Development secretary has long supported impeachment, and retweeted singer Lizzo cleverly tweeting “IM[peach emoji]MENT” with: Truth hurts, a nod to Lizzo’s smash hit single.
John Delaney
The former congressman had previously supported Pelosi waiting on an official impeachment inquiry and again followed the Speaker Tuesday, saying in a statement he believes Pelosi has “exercised extremely good judgment” and he agrees with her, reiterating that “she deserves our support.”
Tulsi Gabbard
Representative Tulsi Gabbard went against the tide of her fellow 2020 contenders on impeachment, saying she doesn’t support it because it would be “terribly divisive” for an “already very divided” country.”
Kamala Harris
The California senator tweeted out a petition before Pelosi had announced formal proceedings, asking supporters to sign if they want to see movement towards impeachment.
“As a 2016 candidate, Donald Trump openly encouraged a foreign adversary to hack a political opponent and attack our elections. As President, he’s doing it again in broad daylight. We cannot stand for this abuse of power,” the petition reads.
Amy Klobuchar
The Minnesota senator tweeted that “the House did the right thing,” maintaining her previously stated support for an impeachment inquiry.
Wayne Messam
The Miramar, Florida, mayor tweeted Tuesday that “Many folks continue to demand impeachment proceedings for @POTUS, I’m on record as well.”
Beto O’Rourke
The former congressman from Texas on Twitter called on his former colleagues to simply “finish the job and impeach him.”
Tim Ryan
The congressman from Ohio took to twitter to say: “Donald Trump showed us again that his true colors are more like a mob boss than a president. It’s time to impeach.”
Bernie Sanders
The Vermont senator tweeted Tuesday he believes Trump “is the most corrupt president in the modern history of this country. Enough is enough.”
He also said Tuesday he fears that if impeachment fails in the Senate, “I know and you know what [Trump] will do: ‘I am vindicated! … I am vindicated!’ And I think that is a fact that has to be taken into consideration.”
Joe Sestak
The former congressman and Naval officer said that if the allegations against Trump are true, “the constitutional duty of Congress is to investigate the outreach of America’s leader.”
Tom Steyer
The billionaire reiterated his support for the impeachment movement. Steyer began calling for impeachment two years ago to “hold this lawless, criminal president accountable. We are finally at a watershed moment.”
Elizabeth Warren
The Massachusetts Senator reiterated her longtime belief in impeaching the president, tweeting a video of her speaking on the floor of the Senate in May where she said “Congress must fulfill its Constitutional duty & begin impeachment proceedings against the President.” She also said “when it comes to the Senate, I will do what the Constitution requires.”
Marianne Williamson: Williamson said Tuesday that she had previously been unsure of an impeachment inquiry because of the GOP stronghold on the Senate, as well as Trump possibly using the inquiry “make himself look like a victim.”
However, “when a president has no qualms withholding aid from another country unless its government agrees to help him get dirt on his political opponents, America has a serious problem,” the author said in a statement. “Our president has apparently no respect for the demands, responsibilities, or the limits to his power.”
“It is with no pleasure that I support an impeachment inquiry into the president. It is, however, with a deep belief that it is the right thing to do,” she added.
Andrew Yang: Yang came forward on Tuesday via Twitter to say he now believes “impeachment is the right path forward. Asking foreign leaders for political help in return for aid and then suppressing your own agency’s inquiry is egregious,” but clarified that if impeachment doesn’t work in the Republican Senate, he plans to “beat Donald Trump at the ballot box in 2020.”
“Sometimes you do the right thing independent of politics,” he continued.
President Trump, for his part, has called the latest push for impeachment a “positive for me in the election.”
Trump’s campaign manager Brad Parscale called the Democrats impeachment strategy “misguided.”
“Democrats can’t beat President Trump on his policies or his stellar record of accomplishment, so they’re trying to turn a Joe Biden scandal into a Trump problem,” Parscale said in a statement.
Source Article from https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2019/09/24/election-2020-where-do-2020-democrats-stand-trump-impeachment/2435355001/
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