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Kaine: Impeachment talk suggests Republicans think they will lose the election

Posted at 8:45 PM, Nov 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-11-03 20:45:49-04

Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine said Thursday that recent speculation among Republican members of Congress about the possibility of impeaching Hillary Clinton if she’s elected suggests that they think they are going to lose on Election Day.

Appearing on the “Alan Colmes Show,” Kaine said, “I’ve really despaired in the last few days seeing some of these comments, when people are throwing the impeachment word around before the election has even taken place. I mean, first it kind of suggests a little bit of defeatism, like, ‘Well, we think we’re probably going to lose,'” Kaine said.

“Second, it all suggests a really bad view of what the role of a legislator is,” he added. “Same about this investigation stuff. I thought legislators were supposed to legislate. I mean, investigations are part of it but the real issue is legislation. So, I hope folks, voters will hold them accountable. Don’t tell us what you’re going to block, tell us what you want to do.”

As CNN’s KFILE has reported, impeaching Clinton if she wins has been discussed on conservative talk radio with several Republican congressmen, with many saying a Clinton win could result in “constitutional crisis” if Clinton were indicted as a result of the pending FBI review of emails obtained from her top aide Huma Abedin.

Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, who is facing a tough re-election in California, shot down the idea on Wednesday, and a top Republican in the Senate, John Cornyn, called such discussions “premature.”