Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reiterated her call for impeachment hearings against President Donald Trump, telling Yahoo Finance in an interview that the process was needed to “get more information” about the president’s actions during the Special Counsel’s Russia probe.
After Robert Mueller closed his investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election without bringing obstruction of justice charges against Trump, he seemingly left the door open to Congress to press the matter.
A growing number of Democrats, including contenders for the 2020 presidential election, have called on lawmakers to press the issue — something House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has resisted.
“I think that the speaker needs to start hearings so we can get more information,” Gillibrand told Yahoo Finance’s Rick Newman on Monday, as part of a Meet the Candidate series.
“I don’t know that we’ll ever get the chance to vote, but it’s still important that we have the process so that we can get the facts,” New York’s junior senator said at the beginning of a week long tour of New Hampshire.
Democrats advocating for Trump’s removal have argued that impeachment would undermine the president’s credibility, even if the effort fails to actually remove the president.
As more Democrats call for impeachment in stronger terms, and impeachment advocate and billionaire Tom Steyer enters the crowded field, Pelosi is under mounting pressure to act.
With Mueller scheduled to testify before Congress next week, Gillibrand said there is value to impeachment hearings beyond simply removing Trump from office.
“I've said that we do need to begin to have hearings, because the truth is President Trump is really continuing to obstruct justice,” she said. “The American people are entitled to know what happened.”
Gillibrand’s campaign has struggled to get off the ground, and New Hampshire — a critical early voting state that can make or break a candidate — represents a critical state for her as she languishes near the bottom of the polls.
With the notable exception of former Vice President Joe Biden, most front-runners in the Democratic primary have called for impeachment hearings. They include Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Cory Booker (D-NJ); as well as South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX).
Calder McHugh is an Associate Editor at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter: @Calder_McHugh.
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