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Tulsi Gabbard Folds — Finally Endorses Impeachment

   DailyWire.com
Democratic Presidential Candidate Tulsi Gabbard visits "FOX & Friends" at Fox News Channel Studios
Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) revealed on Friday that she would be supporting House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump after repeatedly stating that proceeding with the move would be “terribly divisive.”

“Up until this point, I have opposed pursuing impeachment because it will further divide our already badly divided country,” Gabbard wrote in a press release.

“However, after looking carefully at the transcript of the conversation with Ukraine’s president, the whistleblower complaint, the Inspector General memo, and President Trump’s comments about the issue, unfortunately, I believe that if we do not proceed with the inquiry, it will set a very dangerous precedent,” the statement continued. “Future presidents, as well as anyone in positions of power in the government, will conclude that they can abuse their position for personal gain without fear of accountability or consequences.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) announced on Tuesday that her Democratic caucus would be moving forward with an impeachment inquiry after reports emerged that Trump urged Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden by withholding the country’s foreign aid.

At the time of Pelosi’s decision, the reports were not confirmed. The White House subsequently released a transcript of the two leaders’ exchange the following day, which many have argued does not show the direct quid pro quo that was initially alleged.

While the majority of her Democratic colleagues swiftly voiced support for the inquiry, Gabbard notably spoke out against the move. The Hawaii congresswoman contended that impeachment would be “terribly divisive” at a time when the United States is already very divided politically.

Gabbard, who has been consistently opposed to an impeachment inquiry, stood by her decision even after reading the transcript, telling Hill.TV that she still did not find it compelling enough to throw out a duly-elected president.

“I think when you step outside of the bubble here in Washington and you get to where most folks in the country are … I think most people reading through that transcript are not going to find that extremely compelling cause to throw out a president that won an election in 2016,” Gabbard said on Wednesday. “Instead, I think what most people will see is, hey, this is another move by Democrats to get rid of Donald Trump, further deepening the already hyper-partisan divides that we have in this country.”

Gabbard further emphasized the importance of winning the upcoming 2020 election so that the American people can be the ones who chose to remove the president rather than Congress. It is unclear why Gabbard reversed course and backed the House’s impeachment inquiry.

“If we allow the president to abuse his or her power, then our society will rot from top to bottom. We will turn into a banana republic, where people in positions of power — from the president all the way down to the traffic cop — will feel it’s okay to abuse their power with no consequences,” Gabbard said in her statement. “This is not the kind of country that any of us want to see.”

“So it is unfortunate, but necessary, that I speak in support of the inquiry into the president’s alleged abuse of power in relation to his interactions with Ukraine’s leaders,” she continued. “This inquiry must be swift, thorough, and narrowly-focused. It cannot be turned into a long, protracted partisan circus that will further divide our country and undermine our democracy.”

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