Biden and Sanders both express openness to impeachment but avoid taking a firm stance
Former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday both expressed openness to impeachment proceedings against President Trump while, unlike some other 2020 Democrats, not explicitly calling for Congress to do so.
Following Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivering a statement in which he reiterated the findings of his two-year investigation, Biden's campaign said that the former vice president agrees with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that "no one would relish what would certainly be a divisive impeachment process." However, the campaign adds that impeachment "may be unavoidable if this administration continues on its path."
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A growing number of 2020 Democrats have said they support impeachment proceedings, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg. Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) also for the first time backed impeachment in response to Mueller's statement on Wednesday.
But Biden and Sanders have consistently stopped short of doing so, with Biden having previously said simply that Congress could potentially have "no alternative" to impeachment should Trump block their investigations, while Sanders recently said that it "may be time at least to begin the process through the Judiciary Committee to determine whether or not there are impeachment proceedings."
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