On Monday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Live,” 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said based on everything already known, she would vote to remove President Donald Trump from office in an impeachment trial in the Senate.

Harris said, “I believe this is a moment where every member of the United States Congress should take very seriously their oath to protect the Constitution of the United States. This is about defending our democracy and our system of justice because the framers imagined a moment like this, Katy, where there would be an abuse of power by one branch of government, and purposely they designed a democracy understanding it for it to be real and true and checks and balances on any excessive display of power, which means, in this case, we’re the executive branch the president has abused his power. Congress, the other, co-equal independent branch of government, must provide the check and the balance on that abuse. And that means beginning an inquiry to expose exactly what happened so there could be accountability and consequence. There is a matter of defending the very democracy that makes us and allows us to walk into rooms around the globe and have respect because perfect we may be, we actually understand the importance of not having authoritarian regimes.”

When asked if she would vote to “remove him from office,” Harris said, “Yes. Based on everything I’ve seen. Yes. I mean, look, Katy, listen, I’m a former prosecutor. And let me just tell you, as far as I’m concerned, the subject, the main subject of the impeachment which is the issue of yet again Donald Trump eliciting help from a foreign government to interfere with the election of our president of the United States, in this case, we’ve basically got a confession. We’ve got a display of conscious consciousness of guilt in an attempt to cover-up. I don’t know how much more we need but apparently a second whistle-blower, and we’re going to get more. Based on everything we know, including an admission by this president, I don’t know that it leads in any other direction except to vote yes. Which is what I believe I will do based on everything I know.”

She added, “A large part of my campaign and my perspective is that in 2020 justice is on the ballot. And it is everything from having a crook in the White House to justice being on the ballot. when the average American family is a $400 unexpected expense away from complete upheaval.”

Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN