(CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden on Tuesday denounced President Donald Trump's comparison of the ongoing impeachment inquiry to a "lynching," but in a 1998 interview, the then-senator from Delaware also invoked the term in reference to impeachment.

"Impeachment is not 'lynching,' it is part of our Constitution," the former vice president said in a tweet on Tuesday. "Our country has a dark, shameful history with lynching, and to even think about making this comparison is abhorrent. It's despicable."

In an appearance on CNN in October 1998, however, Biden said the impending impeachment proceedings against then-President Bill Clinton could be viewed as a "partisan lynching."

"Even if the President should be impeached, history is going to question whether or not this was just a partisan lynching or whether or not it was something that in fact met the standard, the very high bar, that was set by the founders as to what constituted an impeachable offense," Biden said.

The Biden campaign declined to comment. Later on Tuesday night, Biden apologized for his words in a tweet.

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