John Kasich Says He Supports Donald Trump’s Impeachment
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Friday, former Ohio Governor John Kasich said that he supports the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Less than two weeks ago, the Republican was not in favor of impeachment. Unlike his colleagues across the aisle, Kasich did not see a quid pro quo agreement between Trump and the government of Ukraine, and he thought that impeaching Trump would be too divisive for the country.
Now, Kasich revealed to CNN, he sees a clear quid pro quo.
Kasich explained that White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s apparent admission that military aid was withheld from Ukraine in order to pressure the country to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden changed his mind, as did Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s resignation.
“The last 24 hours have really forced me to review this,” he said.
“I fought with people on the air about ‘Is there a quid-pro-quo?’ and ‘Does this rise to the level of impeachment?’ I now believe that it does.”
“If I was sitting in the House of Representatives today and you were to ask me how do I feel, do I think impeachment should move forward and should go for a full examination and a trial in the United States Senate, my vote would be yes,” the Ohio governor said.
Kasich said that it was “extremely difficult” for him to announce support for impeachment, but he called on other Republicans to do the same, or at the very least call for an inquiry.
The former Ohio governor said that Republicans “would be going crazy” if former President Barack Obama had been doing what Trump did.
Kasich also said that he understands why Republicans in the United States Congress are hesitant to support impeachment, suggesting that GOP lawmakers fear an electoral backlash.
As Trump faces an impeachment probe for using his office to pressure Ukraine to help his reelection, he continues to push boundaries more aggressively by announcing his Florida hotel will host the G7 summit.
The decision is met with pushback from both Dems and members of the GOP pic.twitter.com/KLB8CmpPSO
— The Beat with Ari Melber ? (@TheBeatWithAri) October 19, 2019
In September, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives launched a formal impeachment inquiry following allegations that Trump had used the power of his office to deliberately damage a political opponent’s campaign.
According to an anonymous whistleblower, Trump pressured the government of Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s business dealings, threatening to withdraw military aid.
The transcript of Trump’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky substantiates the intelligence community whistleblower’s allegations, according to House Democrats.
According to Trump, the Bidens are corrupt and it was his duty to direct Ukraine to investigate them.
The Democratic front-runner denies any wrongdoing.
According to Biden, Trump is targeting his family because he knows Biden would be a strong candidate in the general election.
