Rep. Collin Peterson (D-MN), chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture, confirmed that he will vote against impeaching President Donald Trump over his contacts with Ukraine.
Speaking to The Globe on Saturday, Peterson, Minnesota’s most senior member, said, “unless they come up with something between now and Wednesday,” he will vote against impeachment and expects up to five other Democrats to join him.
“Maybe something will change. I doubt it,” the lawmaker added.
The Minnesota Democrat said he believes that the president has “not committed a crime,” while most of his Seventh District constituents oppose the U.S. providing aid to other counties. He also noted the so-called “whistleblower” complaint — authored by a partisan CIA analyst — regarding President Trump’s July 25 telephone with the leader of Ukraine includes “second-hand” information.
The complaint alleges the president pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate allegations of corruption against former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, in exchange for aid. Both world leaders have denied any pressure was applied to launch the probes,and the White House published a transcript of the call as evidence no quid pro quo occurred.
“This is dividing the country for no good reason, because he’s not going to be thrown out of office,” Peterson said of his colleagues’ impeachment effort, before asking: “Why are we doing this?”
“If people don’t like Trump, they can vote against him,” he added.
