“I’m in favor of moving toward impeachment,” the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee told
People Magazine in an interview published on Tuesday. “I did not come to that decision easily or quickly, but this is an emergency as I see it.”
Clinton’s call came on the heels of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s announcement on Tuesday of a formal impeachment inquiry into Trump, as House Democrats increasingly support proceedings to investigate the potential for impeachment.
“We are in a crisis,” Clinton said, later adding that the House must begin impeachment proceedings “not happily or with glee” but to safeguard national security.
Clinton cited reports that
Trump pressed Ukraine’s President to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden’s son earlier this summer, and that he
requested a hold on millions in military aid to Ukraine roughly one week before the call, in her reasoning for impeachment proceedings. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.
“This latest behaviors around Ukraine, trying to enlist the President of Ukraine in a plot to undermine former Vice President Biden or lose the military aide he needs to defend against Trump’s friend, Vladimir Putin — if that’s not an impeachable offense, I don’t know what is,” Clinton told People.
Trump
asserted Monday that he delayed aid to Ukraine ahead of the call but claimed it was unrelated to Biden, and remained defiant Tuesday that he’s done nothing wrong and has no regrets about his behavior when it comes to Ukraine and seeking an investigation into Biden’s son’s dealings.
Clinton called Trump “a reckless, corrupt human tornado” and “a clear and present danger to the future of the United States,” accusing him of “betraying our country on a daily basis” and “undermining the more perfect union” of the United States.
CNN’s Betsy Klein, Paul LeBlanc, Jim Acosta, Jeremy Diamond, Kaitlan Collins, Zachary Cohen and David Shortell contributed to this report.
