2020 Dem: Congress should investigate Trump before moving towards impeachment
Rebecca Morin
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., who is running for president, on Thursday cautioned Congress against beginning impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump — breaking from many of the top-tier 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.
Bennet said that he believes Congress should continue to investigate before opening an impeachment inquiry. He warned that right now any effort to remove Trump from office will likely fail in the Republican-controlled Senate, possibly thereby boosting Trump's 2020 reelection campaign.
"It is very important that we take a page out of history and do what they did with Watergate, which is to make sure the American people understood really what was at stake," Bennet said during a town hall broadcast live on CNN. "If we go down the road tomorrow and impeach President Trump, we're actually giving him a favor."
The Colorado Democrat's stance mirrors that of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who has been resisting increasing pressure from her party to back the opening of an impeachment inquiry.
His comments come a day after special counsel Robert Mueller defended his report on the nearly two-year investigation into Russian election interference. Mueller laid out why he did not formally charge Trump with obstruction of justice, citing a Justice Department policy that prohibits indicting sitting presidents. Mueller's comments gave new fuel to calls by Democrats, including presidential candidates, for Trump's impeachment.
More:Democratic calls for Donald Trump impeachment grow after Mueller's first public remarks
More:Mueller's first remarks stuck to the facts, refocused attention on Russia, rekindled impeachment talk
Bennet, however, thinks that Congress must first investigate what's detailed in Mueller's report further and should just "follow where the evidence leads."
"I think we should call them Russia proceedings involving the president, or whatever it is we want to call them," Bennet said. "If that leads us to impeachment, it leads us to impeachment. I wouldn't be surprised if it did."
The Colorado Democrat said he believes the best way to get Trump out of office though, is to beat him in 2020.
"I think we should investigate him if we believe that that's what called for by the rule of law, and in the meantime what we need to do is beat him to make sure he's just a one-term president," he said.
Here are other highlights from Bennet's CNN town hall:
Bennet opposes Trump tariffs on Mexico
Just hours after Trump announced new tariffs on Mexico in an effort to stop migrants from coming across the southern U.S. border, Bennet suggested the president is "weak" and said he opposed the move by Trump.
"A president Bennet would work with the countries in our hemisphere to stop the refugee crisis. A president Bennet would stop behaving as though the United States is a weak country and can't handle a refugee crisis on our border," he said. "A president Bennet would not erect tariffs that are just another tax on American workers and American farmers and ranchers."
Trump on Thursday evening announced a 5% tariff on Mexico starting June 10 if the country does not stop migrants from Central America traversing the country to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. The tariffs could increase to up to 25% over the next several months if the U.S. does not see enough progress.
More:Trump announces tariffs on Mexico in effort to stop migrants coming to the US
'Bernie is wrong'
Bennet had one clear message for Sen. Bernie Sanders about his Medicare-for-All plan: You're wrong.
Bennet, instead, suggested that Congress should finish the job it started with the Affordable Care Act and provide universal health care coverage, including a "true public option."
He said that the plan he put forth is an option that will allow those who want to to opt into Medicare, or to keep their current insurance if they are satisfied with it. Bennet also pointed to how upset some voters and consumers were when some Americans lost access to their health care providers after Obamacare was passed.
"Now Bernie is proposing that if you like your insurance, we're going to take it away from you," he said. "I think Bernie is wrong to propose that."
The senator also pointed to his recent cancer diagnosis to advocate for a form of universal health care coverage. He was diagnosed with prostate cancer nearly two months ago. He had surgery in April, and later announced that the cancer had been removed.
"I feel awfully lucky that I had health insurance," he said. "This cost $93,000, and if my family hadn't been insured, it would have been a disaster for us, and it would have been a real disaster for most American families."
Making sure 'Roe v. Wade is the law of the land'
As a number of states pass restrictive abortion laws in an apparent effort to get the issue in front of the Supreme Court, Bennet said he would do "everything I can possibly do to make sure Roe v. Wade is the law of the land and to make sure that women make these decisions, not the government."
Bennet joins a number of 2020 Democrats who have vowed to only appoint judges "that will uphold the precedent of Roe v. Wade to begin with."
More:Kamala Harris wants some states to get preclearance before passing abortion laws
The Colorado Democrat also seemingly endorsed a proposal from fellow 2020 Democratic candidate, Sen. Kamala Harris of California. Harris announced Tuesday that she would require states with a history of violating abortion rights to get preclearance through the Justice Department before creating new restrictions.
"I think Kamala Harris had a good idea the other day," he said, pointing to her proposal, which is modeled after the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"I think that's a really interesting idea," he concluded.
Like what you're reading?:Download the USA TODAY app for more
Impeachment hearing: Aide who raised concerns about Trump's Ukraine call to testify Key takeaways from Holmes and Hale's impeachment inquiry testimonies Donald Trump's doctor says president was not evaluated for 'urgent or acute' illness