(CNN)Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich said President Donald Trump should be impeached, a major switch for a former Republican presidential candidate who had previously defended the President.
Breaking from his party’s overall stance, Kasich, who’s a CNN contributor, told CNN’s Ana Cabrera Friday the “final straw” for him was White House acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney’s Thursday admission that military aid was withheld from Ukraine in order to pressure that country for investigations into Democrats.
“But if you are asking me if I was sitting in the House of Representatives today and you were to ask me how do I feel, do I think impeachment should move forward and should go for a full examination and a trial in the United States Senate, my vote would be yes.” Kasich said on CNN’s “Newsroom.”
The high-profile Republican said the events of Thursday afternoon — Mulvaney’s admission of a quid pro quo and the announcement of the resignation of Energy Secretary Rick Perry chief among them — caused him to rethink his stance.
“The last 24 hours have really forced me to review this,” Kasich said.
“When I look at all the information that is coming to us, and all the craziness that is surrounding the operation of the White House, now the resignation sometime this year of Secretary Perry and his involvement, it just goes on and on and on and on.”
“I fought with people on the air about ‘Is there a quid-pro-quo?’ and ‘Does this rise to the level of impeachment?’ I now believe that it does,” he continued. “At this point, there is a big cloud and I think it has to be cleared.”
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/18/politics/kasich-calls-for-trump-impeachment/index.html