Beto O'Rourke says he'll risk consequences on 2020 campaign if Trump impeached

Beto O'Rourke on Tuesday again called for
President Donald Trump's impeachment —
even if it means risking political
consequences for his party and
even risking his presidential bid, a stance
that adds to the number of key Democrats
pressuring House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to
move forward with proceedings.
O'Rourke, one of the 23 Democrats running
for president, said that impeachment
proceedings against Trump must begin as
"the last resort" when "every other option
has failed us."

"We should begin impeachment
proceedings against Donald Trump," he
said during a CNN town hall broadcast live
from Des Moines, Iowa. "[It's] not
something that I take lightly. It's an
incredibly serious, sober decision."
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He previously called for impeachment
proceedings to begin earlier this month,
along with a number of other major
Democratic presidential candidates.
Pelosi has previously called impeachment
the "most divisive" path and has yet to
allow House Democrats to move forward
with a process that could ultimately lead to
Trump's removal from office.
However, as the Trump administration
continues to refuse congressional requests
for information -- both testimony and
documents --  a number of key Democrats
are stepping up pressure on the House
speaker to loosen her position on
impeachment.

Rep. David Cicilline, who is on the
Democratic leadership team and the House
Judiciary Committee, drew a red line for
the administration. He tweeted Monday
that if former White House counsel Don
McGahn did not testify before Congress on
Tuesday, impeachment proceedings should
begin. McGahn ignored the subpoena from
the House Judiciary Committee after the
White House on Monday presented a legal
opinion from the Justice Department
asserting McGahn could not be
compelled to testify.
Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
also tweeted Tuesday that "failure to
impeach now is neglect of due process."
And Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., recently
began the first -- and thus far only --
congressional Republican to call for
Trump's impeachment.

Pelosi has said that there will be political
retribution from Trump supporters in the
upcoming 2020 elections if proceedings
begin — something O'Rourke said Tuesday
he was willing to risk.
"I understand the political implications of
this, but I think this moment calls for us to
look beyond the politics and the polling,
and even the next election," he said. "It's
the very sanctity of the ballot box and the
very future of the world's greatest
democracy."

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When asked by CNN moderator Dana Bash
if he would bear the "short term pain" if he
was the Democratic nominee, O' Rourke
said: "That's possible."

"The consequence of the alternative is to
turn a blind eye to this, and in doing so, is
to turn our back on the future of this
country, and I cannot be part of that," he
said.
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