CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said it’s important for him to collect all facts related to the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump before determining if it’s worth removing Trump from office.
Manchin remarks on Thursday’s MetroNews “Talkline” came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., asked House committee leaders to draft articles of impeachment against the president.
The investigation regards a phone call between Trump and Ukraine’s president, in which the president asked for an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter. The eldest Biden is running for president.
“Before we go down this road and we’re going to be voting on removing a president or not, you want to make sure the facts are solid,” Manchin said. “We haven’t seen the facts yet. We’ve heard a lot and there’s been testimony on a lot, but there’s a lot of classified facts that we’re going to have a chance to go look at in the SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility), which is the secure area, and see what matches up.”
Manchin also noted with next year’s election, legislators will have to be careful with the information put forward.
“Are the facts going to prove that basically what the president has done is grounds for removal?” he asked. “The thing I think the president or his people around him do not either understand or take serious the intervention of foreign entities.”
Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee are staying in Washington, D.C. over the weekend to work on impeachment efforts. A committee hearing is scheduled for Monday at 9 a.m.