DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst warned Sunday that Republicans would immediately push to impeach Joe Biden over his work in Ukraine as vice president if he win the White House.
“I think this door of impeachable whatever has been opened,” Ernst said in an interview with Bloomberg News. “Joe Biden should be very careful what he’s asking for because, you know, we can have a situation where if it should ever be President Biden, that immediately, people, right the day after he would be elected would be saying, ‘Well, we’re going to impeach him.’”
The grounds for impeachment, the first-term Republican said, would be “for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year.”
Asked by @jaketapper if she thinks there might be an effect between Biden/Ukraine and what happens in Iowa, Joni Ernst says: “I think this does - whether that was the intention or not now everything is tied together ... the information about the Bidens is now out there.”
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 2, 2020
President Barack Obama sent Biden to Ukraine on his behalf to fight corruption, including leading the push from the U.S. and western European powers to remove prosecutor general Viktor Shokin from office. When Shokin was fired in 2016, no congressional Republicans expressed concern about the move. Eventually, though, Shokin began to argue that he was fired because he was investigating Burisma and Biden wanted to protect his son, Hunter, who was on the company’s board. There’s no evidence to support that claim.
Earlier this week, Ernst tied the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump to Biden’s chances in the Iowa Democratic caucus on Monday, suggesting that the trial could hurt his case with caucus goers. “I’m really interested to see how this discussion today informs and influences the Iowa caucus voters, those Democratic caucus goers. Will they be supporting Vice President Biden at this point? Not certain at that,” she said.
This is interesting in that:
— Steve Mullis (@stevemullis) February 2, 2020
1) Ernst admits an honest possibility of Biden winning
2) Misunderstands impeachment in that Republicans would have to have control of the House to do it
3) Undermines GOP argument that impeachment requires a crime (even though it doesn't) https://t.co/4Dvh0030z7
Biden has been sure to mention Ernst’s comments during every stump speech he’s made this week, drawing applause as he suggests that Ernst had “spilled the beans” about Republicans’ real intention in raising the Burisma issue to damage Biden’s candidacy. “You can ruin Donald Trump’s night by caucusing with me and ruin Joni Ernst’s night as well,” he’s told Iowa crowds this week.
ERNST: "IA caucuses are this next Monday evening. And I'm really interested to see how this discussion today informs and influences the Iowa caucus voters, those Demcaucus goers. Will they be supporting VP Biden at this point?"
— Alan He (@alanhe) January 28, 2020
H/T @JaxAlemany pic.twitter.com/tYYkSPuIDY
Biden communications director Kate Bedingfield responded to Ernst’s latest comments by again encouraging Iowans to caucus for Biden. “Iowans have the chance tomorrow to say the words that Donald Trump and Joni Ernst fear most: I’m here to caucus for Joe Biden,” she said.
