"We have to hold everyone accountable and that no person is above that law,: she says.
New York Democratic Congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday that she would support the impeachment of President Donald Trump if she is elected next November.
The 28-year-old Ocasio-Cortez, fresh off her upset primary victory over 10-term congressman Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) on Tuesday, said Democrats should run on policy in the upcoming midterm elections but stressed that Congress should hold the president accountable.
“I would support impeachment. I think that, you know, we have the grounds to do it. I think what, really, we need to focus on is making sure that we are advocating for the policies to win in November,” she told CNN. “But ultimately, I think that what we need to kind of focus on is insuring that we can, you know, when people break the law, potentially break the law, that we have to hold everyone accountable and that no person is above that law.”
As to the grounds on which she believes Trump should be impeach, Ocasio-Cortez said the president’s unwillingness to divest himself from his family’s business indicated “serious grounds in violations of the emoluments clause from day one.” Further grounds, she suggested, could emerge from the ongoing investigations into Trump’s campaign and potential links to Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.
While House Democrats have mostly been united in their opposition to the president, the question of actually impeaching Trump has been a thorny one, with a handful of members advocating loudly for it while other Democrats have sought to tamp down such talk over worries that it could scare away potential midterm voters and galvanize Republicans.
Asked if she would support Rep. Nancy Pelosi to continue as the House Democratic leader, Ocasio-Cortez stopped well short of responding in the affirmative, telling CNN only that “it’s far too early to make those kinds of commitments.” She did not rule out supporting Pelosi (D-Calif.), as several other Democratic candidates have done.
