On MSNBC's "AM Joy," Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX) laid out the case for impeaching President Donald Trump — and warned of the consequences for Trump's own family at the hands of future presidents if he is allowed to get away with it.
"He abused his power by trying to trade government resources for a political favor, to knock out a political rival in Joe Biden, the guy that he thought would emerge as nominee for 2020," said Castro. "We can't set a precedent where Congress says it's okay for a president to do that, because if we do that then a few things will happen. Number one, it opens the door for Donald Trump to do it again or a future president to do it again. To ask a country to interfere in our elections and knock out a political rival by digging up dirt."
"But the other thing is it puts a lot of Americans in danger, and this is what I try to convey to people that aren't in politics," continued Castro. "It means that if you're a businessperson who's doing work or your kids are doing work in Ukraine or in Sweden or anywhere else, that a president or a governor or somebody else can pick up the phone and ask that person, the leader of that country, to go investigate you or dig up dirt on you, and Congress would be saying, by letting Donald Trump off the hook, that that's okay. That, you know, the next Democratic president, in theory, could call Saudi Arabia and say, if you don't investigate, we're not going to give you the aid we said we're going to do. Is it okay for a president to do that? That's what we'll be doing if we do nothing with Donald Trump."
"The fact that Donald Trump has children that do business with foreign countries," remarked host Joy Reid. "Does he want that applied to his son-in-law or his daughter's relationships? It's an excellent point."
"That's right," said Castro. "If nothing happens, in ten years, somebody could ask to investigate Jared Kushner in Israel or Saudi Arabia or somewhere else, and we would be saying that's perfectly fine."
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