Congresswoman Cindy Axne.
The three Democrats in the Iowa congressional delegation support the move to begin an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.
Congresswoman Cindy Axne, a Democrat from West Des Moines, says her support of the inquiry is based on the oath she took when entering Congress earlier this year.
“Learning that the president pressured a foreign leader to investigate a political opponent is a clear abuse of power. And, we know that he did that–he admitted to that,” Axne says “Beyond that abuse of power, there’s also allegations that the president threatened to leverage U.S. taxpayer dollars–military aid–that Congress had already appropriated to the Ukraine to extort that foreign government. So, if that piece is true, that constitutes an unequivocal violation of our federal laws, and the Constitution that I swore to defend.”
Axne stops short of saying she would vote for impeachment IF the inquiry determined any wrongdoing on Trump’s part.
“I always judge what I do based on facts,” Axne says. “That is how I operate, I’ve never differed from that. My background is being in fact finding, it’s overseeing strategy for the state, it’s holding government accountable. So, I will wait and hold out an opinion on that before I see the information.”
Republican Iowa Senators Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley — accuse Democrats of trying to overturn the results of the 2016 election. Iowa’s Fourth District Republican Congressman Steve King says the impeachment inquiry is vicious, unpatriotic and puts the constitution at risk by trying to unseat Trump.
Axne backs Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to move forward. “This is not something that the speaker took lightly,” the congresswoman says, “This is absolutely something that I don’t take lightly. I don’t come to these decisions lightly. I regret that the president’s actions require these measures. You know, as a country, we never want to get to the point where we would look at impeachment of a president.” Axne says, “This is all based on facts, this is based on what is legal, and that’s why the speaker is moving forward.”
Democrat Second District Congressman Dave Loebsack of Iowa City says the American people deserve the truth and there is no other way to get the information than an impeachment inquiry. Democrat First District Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer of Dubuque says the investigation is needed to defend our democracy and the Constitution.
(By Mike Peterson, KMA, Shenandoah)