Democratic Senator Doug Jones of Alabama said Thursday that it’s unlikely there is a “smoking gun” that will lead to the removal or exoneration of President Donald Trump over an alleged request he made to the Ukrainian leader to investigate a political rival.

Jones said it’s “crucial” for the constitutional oversight process of an impeachment inquiry to play itself out “without any obstruction” so that facts can be gathered.

“We are nowhere close to having a full picture of what happened here,” Jones said during his weekly news call-in with members of the Alabama media. “The complaint is simply as that, a statement of allegation.”

He added, “I support a fact-finding mission. I support the House finding out the facts. It’s important to get the facts out there. That is the prerogative of the House of Representatives. The things we’ve seen this week with the release of the summary of the phone call, then the whistleblower complaint – you can call it what you want to, it doesn’t matter what they call it – I just want to get to the facts. I think the people of America are owed the facts. I’ll let the House of Representatives do their job.”

The impeachment probe will center on a July 25 call Trump had with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky. A whistleblower claims that Trump pressured Zelensky to probe former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter, who sat on the board of a Ukrainian natural gas company.

Alabama Republicans have publicly defended Trump since Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the impeachment inquiry on Tuesday. They’ve further defended the president after the White House released a summary of the call with Zelensky, and have said that the Democrats are merely attempting to reverse the results of the 2016 election by proceeding with impeachment.

The allegation that the President withheld military aid in order to pressure Ukraine-even indirectly-to investigate a political opponent is a very serious matter. It's critical to nat'l security for the House & Senate to perform their constitutional oversight role & investigate — Doug Jones (@DougJones) September 25, 2019

Jones said he will refrain from turning the House impeachment inquiry into a political discussion.

“You won’t get a sound byte from me, or a Tweet storm about whether or not someone should or should not be removed from office," said Jones. "You’re not going to get a sound byte or Tweet storm about me circling the wagons around the president or for calling for his removal,” said Jones. “All of these pieces of the puzzle need to come together before we make a judgment.”

Asked if he was worried about a prolonged impeachment proceeding lingering into the 2020 campaign season, Jones said, “The one thing I’m frustrated about is that the media wants to continue to put this into political terms. I don’t look into this in political terms. I don’t look at it going into a 2020 election. This is a constitutional issue that we have. We have some rough waters in this country and we will have to continue (to steer) the ship of state over the next few months. So what I really want to focus on is what my job ultimately will be if things come over here. I am not going to worry about an election for me or anyone else for 2020. We’ll let this thing play out and do everything we can to represent the people and uphold my oath."

Jones will be faced with a fierce re-election battle next year from the winner of the March 3 Republican primary. A runoff, if need, is March 31.

Jones was the first Democrat to win a Senate election in 20 years when, in 2017, he defeated Republican Roy Moore during a special election to fill former Republican Senator Jeff Sessions’ seat.

Jones is viewed by most national political analysts as among the most vulnerable Senate incumbents during the 2020 elections.

Further compounding the political difficulties for Jones is that Trump remains popular in Alabama despite having an overall approval rating of 43%, according to the latest statistics tracked by Gallup.

According to Morning Consult, the president’s net approval score in Alabama is +24 points, which is the highest in the U.S.

Republican candidates for the Senate have pushed to align their campaigns to the Trump agenda, and are calling out Jones as a member of the Democratic party that opposes the president.

U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope – almost immediately after Pelosi signaled for an impeachment inquiry -- called out Jones by name in search for his position on impeachment.

“Every leader in our country should have to say whether they stand with President Trump and the American people or if they stand with the Socialist Squad,” Byrne said.

While he isn’t calling out politicians by name, Jones took exception to impeachment inquiry critics who are labeling Pelosi’s position as a political cave-in to the “socialist wing” of the party.

“This is a constitutional issue,” said Jones. “It’s not a stupid socialist agenda, as I’ve heard some people say. It’s about getting the facts to the Congress of the United States … and to the American people. I think it’s incredibly irresponsible that some politicians have already seem to have made up their minds on this situation based on which ever way they think political wind is blowing or which party they belong to.”