The emergence of a second whistleblower has not swayed an Illinois Republican’s stance on the impeachment inquiry.
Congressman Darin LaHood maintains there is no evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors justifying President Trump’s removal from office.
“It’s a continued effort — by Democrats in particular and the far left — to go after this president because they don’t like the results of the election," LaHood said. "That’s why we have elections. We’re going to have another one in November of 2020. Let’s let the voters decide on what the president did or didn’t do.”
The Republican said he does not “necessarily” agree with the language Trump used in his call with Ukraine’s leader.
But he said the burden of proof should be high when lawmakers consider nullifying an election.
Meanwhile, President Trump will not have to turn over more than 8 years of tax returns — at least for now.
That comes after an appeals court issued a temporary stay of decision. Earlier Monday morning, a federal judge ruled the documents be released to the Manhattan district attorney as part of a criminal probe of Trump’s business dealings.
LaHood said while he has encouraged these documents being made public, he isn’t sure that Trump should be forced to hand them over.
“I said way back when the president ought to release his taxes, when he ran for president. I think all presidents ought to release their taxes," he said. "But remember, the president made a decision: ‘I’m not releasing my taxes.’ He went before the voters and they elected him president. That’s the will of the people.”
LaHood would not comment on whether he supports legislatively requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns.
LaHood made his comments during an event at the Tazewell County Clerk's office Monday.
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