Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.), the first Muslim congressman, laid out why he believes President Trump is already impeachable in a debate Wednesday on CNN between contenders for the DNC chair position.

"Three of your colleagues in the House," Dana Bash asked, "Maxine Waters, Jamie Raskin and Joaquin Castro have publicly raised the specter of impeaching Prsident Trump. Do you stand with them or with House Leader Nancy Pelosi, who believes impeachment talk is premature?"

"I think that he, Donald Trump," Ellison began, "has already done a number of things which legimitately raise the question of impeachment.

I mean on day one, he was in violation of the emoluments clause. This is a part of the Constitution that says as a president you can't get payments from a foreign power. The day people checked into his hotel and started paying him, who were foreign dignitaries, he was in violation of that law. There's already a lawsuit filed against him and right now, it is not only about Donald Trump, it is about the integrity of the presidency.

"So yeah I believe we need to begin investigations to, not go after Donald Trump, but to protect our Constitution and the presidency of the United States," Ellison concluded, "to make sure that nobody can monetize the presidency, and make profit off of it for their own gain."

Rep. Keith Ellison: Trump has already done a number of things that "raise the question of impeachment" #DNCDebate https://t.co/VoQY6vj5x9 — CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) February 23, 2017

Ellison is considered the frontrunner for the DNC chair, but has fallen under deep criticism from the right and even some in his party for past comments about Israel which were called "disturbing and disqualifying." He's also seen by the more progressive and far left wing of the Democratic party as their way out of the destruction from the 2016 election, while others think entrenching into the far left will only worsen their political fortunes.