Craig undecided on impeachment vote
Minnesota freshman Democratic Rep. Angie Craig said she will spend the weekend poring over testimony, reports and the articles of impeachment against Republican President Trump before deciding on how she’ll cast her vote.
Craig said she’s read both articles from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and plans to compare them to the testimony from the House Intelligence Committee and the committee’s final report.
“I’ve said from the beginning, no one is above the law. If the facts support a yes vote, that’s how I will vote,” said Craig. “But at the end of the day, I want to be thoughtful and disciplined and fair and objective, and that’s what I intend to do.”
She backed the impeachment inquiry in September after the transcription of Trump’s July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was released. In the call, Trump asked Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, and his son, Hunter.
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“I wanted it to be an open thoughtful process here from the House Intelligence Committee with public hearings,” she said. “All of that has happened.”
Craig is walking a fine line on impeachment in her district, which elected her by more than 5 percentage points last fall after swinging narrowly for Trump in 2016. The 2nd District covers Democratic-friendly suburbs southeast of the Twin Cities, as well as more conservative towns nearly 100 miles south.
Another freshman Democrat, Rep. Dean Phillips, told CNN this week that he plans to support the articles of impeachment. He was previously undecided on whether he’d vote to impeach the president. Phillips’ 3rd District strongly backed Hillary Clinton in 2016.
The articles accuse Trump of abusing his power and obstructing Congress in his dealings with Ukraine. That tracks closely with the final report from the House Intelligence Committee, which found Trump withheld military aid from Ukraine while pressuring the Zelensky to investigate the Bidens.
Trump has called the phone call “perfect,” and Republicans in Congress have said the president did nothing to warrant impeachment.