Republican Kinzinger: I should have voted to impeach Trump over Ukraine

One of two Republicans on the House January 6 committee has said he regrets his vote against the first impeachment of Donald Trump, for withholding military aid to Ukraine in an attempt to obtain dirt on rivals including Joe Biden.

In tweets posted on Friday, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued, with cities besieged and bombarded, Adam Kinzinger said: “I want to be honest, in Congress I have only a few votes that in hinds[igh]t, I regret. My biggest regret was voting against the first impeachment of Donald Trump.

“It’s important for political leaders to be transparent and admit regret when needed. The bottom line, Donald Trump withheld lethal aid to Ukraine so he could use it as leverage for his campaign. This is a shameful and illegal act, directly hurting the Ukraine defense today.

“I wish I could go back in time and vote for it, but I cannot. What we can do now is to ensure that this never happens again, and that we all put the interests of our nation above our party. Alexander Vindman [a White House official who was fired for opposing Trump’s Ukraine scheme] and others deserve our appreciation.”

No House Republicans voted to impeach Trump over the Ukraine scandal, which saw only the Utah senator Mitt Romney vote to convict in the Senate. Kinzinger, from Illinois, was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him for inciting the deadly Capitol attack.

Kinzinger is also among such Republicans who have announced that they will retire at the next election, rather than face a Trump-anointed challenger.

Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the other Republican on the January 6 committee, faces such a primary challenge. She also voted not to impeach Trump over Ukraine but to impeach him over the Capitol riot.

Trump is in legal jeopardy over January 6, his attempts to overturn the election and his business affairs. But he still dominates the Republican party and polling of possible presidential nominees in 2024. He has hinted heavily and repeatedly that he will indeed run.

In response to Kinzinger’s tweets, Edward Luce of the Financial Times said he “want[ed] to hear more as it can’t be that you were ignorant of the facts or of the nature of Trump”.

Luce added: “It’s always admirable to admit mistakes … it would be an even greater service to hear about the psychology of such politics as most of his colleagues are still acting that way.”

His party remains home to politicians who have praised Vladimir Putin, not least Trump himself.

The former president has repeatedly praised the Russian president for being smart, though he has condemned the Ukraine war. On Thursday night, Trump repeatedly rebuffed attempts by the Fox News host Sean Hannity to get him to say Putin was “evil” or an “enemy”.

Another House Republican, Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina, a prominent Trump supporter, was reported this week to have called the president of Ukraine, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, a “thug” and his government “incredibly evil”.

On Twitter, Kinzinger said: “This is the sad but successful impact of Russia’s cyber operation that we’ve seen pushed and promoted on conservative outlets. The threat is real and it’s dangerous. Case in point: a sitting US congressman is echoing Putin propaganda.”

g2g079 on March 12nd, 2022 at 17:25 UTC »

Here was his response to me when I asked him to support the first impeachment. Emphasis mine.

Thank you for contacting me to share your views on the investigation into potential wrongdoing by President Trump. By hearing your thoughts and concerns on the issues, I am better able to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives.

As laid out in the U.S. Constitution, the House of Representatives may take a vote to impeach the President only for high crimes or treason. Then, if passed by the House, it is the responsibility of the U.S. Senate to hold impeachment trials and remove officials from office. This process requires the votes of a two-thirds majority in the U.S. Senate, which is a purposefully high threshold of support, one that our founders intended.

As your representative, I believe calls for impeachment that do not meet the robust standards of treason or other high crimes only serve to distract our nation from solving very real and immediate problems. Congress must continue its constitutional duty to hold the Executive Branch accountable for their actions. However, we must also stay focused on decreasing our national debt, curbing unemployment and growing our economy, reforming our broken healthcare system, and ensuring that our nation remains a force for good across the globe. Approaching the very serious issue of impeachment without sufficient evidence of treason or high crimes does nothing to move our country forward.

Let me be clear-I support getting answers to all questions being asked. Whatever evidence is presented before me, I will make the right decision. Additionally, as these investigations continue, it is my hope that it will be done in an open and transparent way so that Members of Congress and the American people can decide for themselves.

To function as our Founders intended, our Republic requires the active participation of informed voters. As your elected representative, we may not always agree on the issues, but I will continue to ask for and take to heart your comments and concerns. Please be assured, I will keep your views in mind should any relevant legislation come before me for a vote.

Again, thank you for contacting me. It is an honor to represent you in the U.S. House of Representatives. Please do not hesitate to contact me if my office can be of assistance to you on any issue of importance.

Sincerely, Adam Kinzinger, Member of Congress

Notice how he conveniently left out bribery from the list of impeachable crimes.

steve-eldridge on March 12nd, 2022 at 17:09 UTC »

Yes, that was obvious to everyone who is not a Republican a long time ago.

ranchoparksteve on March 12nd, 2022 at 17:04 UTC »

It didn’t take long for history to show that Republicans can’t figure out even basic elements of national security. But it goes beyond ignorance because the pattern is so well established. If we follow the money, this all probably makes sense.