On Sunday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “AM Joy, ” 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful former Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) said the American people would “force” Republican senators to impeach President Donald Trump.

O’Rourke said, “Many of us for years have been able to see clearly that the president needs to be impeached going back to his candidacy, inviting a foreign government, Russia, to involve themselves in our election. After being sworn in, seeking to obstruct justice to lie to investigators, to fire the principal investigators, to cover up his phone call with Zelensky and then out in the open to ask China to involve themselves in this race as well. Perhaps in exchange for a more favorable trade deal and a reduction of the tariffs. So I think we have the necessary evidence. I appreciate the deliberate process that the House is taking to make sure that they marshal all the facts, that they present them to the public, that they present them to the members of the U.S. senate who will be conducting the trial on the president’s culpability. But, look, the very future of this country, our democracy, the Constitution that every member is sworn to uphold and defend, all that is on the line right now, and they must pursue their duty. And that includes those Republican members who have got to put this country ahead of their party, ahead of the president of their party and ahead of their next election. This is a moment that will define America forever.”

He added, “My faith is in the people of this country. And though you’re right to question the motives of Mitch McConnell who in 2016 was warned about what the Russians were doing to our democracy chose politics and political expediency over this country, our constitution and our democracy. I think the constituents of those members of the Senate, as these facts become clearer to them, will insist on justice and accountability. Because they understand that the alternative is to set a precedent where some people are really above the law in this country. And the moment that we do that is the moment that we’ve turned our back on justice, that we’ve turned our back on this democracy and we lose this idea of America forever. And I know that the people of this country understand that. They will force their senators, including those Republican senators to do the right thing. And it gets back to this idea that I brought up earlier. the power of public sentiment and the popular will and making sure that our voices are heard, certainly at the ballot box in November 2020 but right now on the 20th of October, making sure all of us are heard in terms of how important this moment is and we’ve got do the right thing while we still have time.”

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