John Kasich now says President Trump should be impeached
WASHINGTON – Former Ohio Governor and 2016 Republican presidential candidate John Kasich said Friday he now supports impeaching President Donald Trump.
Kasich said it was White House acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney admitting there was a quid pro quo between the United States and Ukraine that “pushed me really across the Rubicon.”
During a rare White House press briefing, Mulvaney told reporters on Thursday, "Did (Trump) also mention to me in passing the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely... That's it. That's why we held up the money," acknowledging the White House had frozen military aid as leverage over Ukraine.
"Withholding military aid, vital military aid to a nation like Ukraine, which has Russian troops inside its territory, that’s threatened all the time, withholding it so that a political operation can take place – 'investigate this thing around the server, and we’re going to withhold the aid until you do that’ – to me, it's totally inappropriate. It’s an abuse of power." Kasich said during an interview on CNN.
"Does this rise to the level of impeachment? I now believe it does... I say it with great sadness."
Former Ohio Governor @JohnKasich says Mick Mulvaney's comments on a quid pro quo with Ukraine moved him to this point. https://t.co/IOI0E9YrRO pic.twitter.com/tfRdMFH7LU— CNN Newsroom (@CNNnewsroom) October 18, 2019
“My view is that, look, I've fought with people on the air over, 'Is there a quid quo pro' and 'Does this rise to the level of impeachment?' I now believe that it does and I say it with, I say it with great sadness. This is not something I really wanted to do,” he continued.
Kasich also noted he voted to impeach President Bill Clinton when he was a member of the House of Representatives.
Kasich said he would want to see and consider the House's articles of impeachment, and expressed disagreement with how House Democrats have conducted their investigation thus far.
"But if you’re asking 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 go for a full examination and trial of the United States Senate? My vote would be yes. I don’t say it lightly," Kasich said.
The impeachment inquiry began last month after a whistleblower accused Trump of pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Kasich has been a critic of Trump since facing him in 2016 and previously said he was "very seriously" considering running against him as a primary challenger in 2020.
“This is extremely difficult for me, but it’s what I feel I have to do," Kasich said during his CNN interview. "It’s what my conscience tells me.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Kasich: President Trump should be impeached
