Rep. Brenda Lawrence (D-Mich.), who previously called for an impeachment inquiry against Republican President Donald Trump, said that she does not support impeaching the president at this time.
“You can censure, you don’t have to remove the president. So there’s different levels of activities that you can take under the articles of impeachment,” Lawrence said on the “No BS News Hour” program over the weekend.
“We are so close to an election, so I can tell you, sitting here, knowing how divided this country is, I don’t see the value of kicking him out of office, but I do see the value of putting down a marker saying his behavior is not acceptable.”
Lawrence, 65, who has been in office since 2015, said that articles of impeachment would be written by the House Judiciary Committee after the House Intelligence Committee writes a report based on its findings.
“I feel that there’s significant evidence based on the interviews and documents to impeach,” Lawrence said.
“It will be a partisan vote, Democrat and Republican. It will go to the Senate, which will take it up, and if they take it up they will not indict. That’s my assessment of what will happen.”
Back in June, Lawrence said she supported an impeachment inquiry against Trump.
“I feel we have to begin that process,” Lawrence told CNN on June 12. She said Trump’s interview the same day with ABC was “criminal.”
The congresswoman said over the weekend that Trump used the power of the presidency to withhold money from Ukraine to get the country to investigate an American citizen for personal gain. Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in July to “look into” former Vice President Joe Biden and Biden’s son Hunter Biden over their past conduct in the country.
Joe Biden in 2016 threatened to withhold $1 billion in aid unless Ukraine ousted the country’s top prosecutor, Viktor Shokin, who was probing Hunter Biden’s employer Burisma. Shokin resigned and his replacement closed the investigation.
Zelensky’s top prosecutor recently said he’s reviewing the case.
Lawrence said that she might be able to get some Republicans to vote for censuring Trump. Few Republicans have said Trump did anything improper and none voted for the impeachment process resolution, while two Democrats sided with the GOP and voted against the resolution.
“I think I could get my Republican colleagues who know, who recognize that this is unacceptable,” Lawrence claimed.
“In private, they wish he would stop, they wish he would use more compassion, more intelligence, they wish he would stop tweeting, they wish he would surround himself with people who advise him, not just yes people,” Lawrence added.
