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Hillary Clinton
- Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote an op-ed cautioning Democrats against rushing to impeachment after the release of the Mueller report.
- "Congress should hold substantive hearings that build on the Mueller report and fill in its gaps, not jump straight to an up-or-down vote on impeachment," she wrote.
- Clinton said the Mueller report documented "a serious crime against the American people."
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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes special counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian election interference documents "a serious crime against the American people."
In a new op-ed, published in The Washington Post on Wednesday, Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee, shared her thoughts on the findings of the report and also urged Democrats to be methodical when it comes to the possibility of impeachment.
The op-ed comes less than a week after a redacted version of Mueller's report was made public. The report was split into two volumes: one focused on the investigation into election interference, the other looked at obstruction of justice - and it included a litany of potentially damning allegations against President Donald Trump.
Clinton, who acknowledged that being the losing candidate may not make her "the right messenger," also argued that her past experience as Secretary of State, a US Senator, first lady, and a staff attorney with House Judiciary Committee's 1974 Watergate impeachment inquiry give her some perspective on the issue.
She's concerned about the broader national security implications linked to Russian election interference and called for a commission to be established to focus on this issue.
"Our election was corrupted, our democracy assaulted, our sovereignty and security violated," Clinton wrote. "This is the definitive conclusion of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report. It documents a serious crime against the American people."
Mueller in his report concluded that Russia interfered in the election to benefit Trump's campaign and hurt Clinton's, though the report did not establish that members of the president's campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Kremlin.
Clinton went on to say that the debate over how to prevent Russian election interference in the future and how to hold Trump accountable for "obstructing the investigation and possibly breaking the law" has been "reduced to a false choice: immediate impeachment or nothing."
The former presidential candidate said there is a "better way to think about the choices ahead."
Echoing comments from Democratic leaders like House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, Clinton referred to Mueller's report as a "road map" and urged against a partisan process moving forward.
"It's up to members of both parties to see where that road map leads - to the eventual filing of articles of impeachment, or not," Clinton said.
She went on to say that Republicans "rushed to judgment" with impeachment proceedings against her husband, former President Bill Clinton, in 1998 and urged Democrats against making the same mistake, and Clinton held up the Watergate inquiry as a path to follow.
"Congress should hold substantive hearings that build on the Mueller report and fill in its gaps, not jump straight to an up-or-down vote on impeachment," she wrote.
Meanwhile, Clinton said House Democrats should not forget to "stay focused on the sensible agenda that voters demanded in the midterms, from protecting health care to investing in infrastructure." Noting that significant legislation was passed during the Watergate inquiry.
"We have to get this right," Clinton said in conclusion. "The Mueller report isn't just a reckoning about our recent history; it's a warning about the future. Unless checked, the Russians will interfere again in 2020, and possibly other adversaries, such as China or North Korea, will as well. This is an urgent threat."
"A crime was committed against all Americans," she added, "and all Americans should demand action and accountability."