On Wednesday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Hardball,” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said President Donald Trump was “a criminal living in the White House.”

Harris said for voters, “Justice is on the ballot in terms of the corruption of this president and his administration. There is no question, I think, for many of them and many of us that we have a criminal living in the White House. But it is also issues of economic justice. He said he was going to take care of working people but yet in America almost half of American families can’t afford a $400 unexpected expense. Reproductive justice is on the ballot, a big issue in Virginia and around the country. And they want leaders who are going to reflect the priority around giving women their constitutional right to make decisions about their own body. So there were a number of issues. But I’ve seen is Democrats and even some Republicans who are voting for Democrats have decided they’re fed up, they want leaders who are going to respect their rights but also lead and address some of the problems that are long-standing that Donald Trump has failed to deal with.”

She continued, “I intend to fulfill my constitutional duty and obligation, and I will be there for as long as it takes in the United States Senate during the impeachment trial. And frankly, I think that everyone who is a member of the United States Senate including the leader should also fulfill their constitutional duty which means to make sure this process has integrity, that it is not motivated by politics and that it is a truth finding and truth seeking process.”

She added, “Right now in America justice is on the ballot, our democracy is on the ballot, our system and rule of law is on the ballot. And I hope and I think everyone should hope that every member of the United States Congress will understand that our framers in their brilliance imagined a moment like this, created a government with three coequal independent branches of government to have checks and balances on any one branches on abuse of power. This is that moment, and we must each fulfill then our constitutional responsibility to make sure there’s a check and balance in this case the corruption of Donald Trump’s administration. I would hope that my Republican colleagues will agree that this is a critical moment and that America’s identity is very much at stake. Our commitment to our values and again to our rule of law and democracy is at stake, and I just have to hope that folks will put country before party.”

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