Presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard did not join her fellow House Democrats in support of two impeachment articles against President Donald Trump.
Gabbard voted “present” Wednesday on both articles that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
“I could not in good conscience vote against impeachment because I believe President Trump is guilty of wrongdoing,” Gabbard said in a statement.
“I also could not in good conscience vote for impeachment because removal of a sitting president must not be the culmination of a partisan process, fueled by tribal animosities that have so gravely divided our country,” she added.
Gabbard went on to blast Republicans for blindly following Trump and abdicating their oversight responsibility. But she criticized Democrats for what she called their "extreme rhetoric" that she said hurt the fact-finding process.
The Hawaii congresswoman for months has criticized Democrats pushing to impeach and remove Trump from office. She said recently that she would instead push Congress to censure the president after disclosures that he asked Ukrainian officials to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.