“You don’t prejudge investigations," Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo McAuliffe, top Democrats dismiss impeachment talk

BONN, Germany — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said Sunday he does not support impeaching President Donald Trump, after Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer pressed the case for impeachment at the United Nations climate conference here.

“Let [special counsel Robert] Mueller, and let the people who are doing the process, go through and do what they’re doing,” McAuliffe said after a breakfast speech by Steyer, a supporter of the Virginia Democrat. “You don’t prejudge investigations.”


Steyer, who is spending millions of dollars running television ads in the United States calling for Trump’s impeachment, told a small crowd Sunday that “lack of action is a choice.”

But Steyer’s message did not appear to resonate with top Democratic politicians in Germany for the climate talks. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, who also attended the breakfast, said she has no position on impeachment, which she said is “something that Congress is going to deal with.” California Gov. Jerry Brown was also dismissive.

“Do you want me to start an impeachment movement by saying, ‘Yes, I agree with Steyer. Let’s go.’ What will that do?” Jerry Brown told reporters on Saturday night. “That would be counterproductive. It would undermine all that we’re trying to do.”

Former California GOP Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a vocal critic of Trump, declined to answer questions about impeachment Sunday.

Steyer, who is considering running for U.S. Senate in California, spoke in a pavilion set up by United States climate advocates and financed by a coalition including Steyer and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

McAuliffe, a potential presidential contender who described Steyer as a friend, said, “He paid for the breakfast. He’s entitled to clearly say what he wants.”