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Cory Booker raises impeachment talk against Trump

New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker (D) raised prospect of impeaching president Trump, though he has cautioned against rushing to judgment in the past.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017 (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)Read moreCliff Owen

WASHINGTON — Sen. Cory A. Booker is invoking the "I"-word — impeachment.

The New Jersey Democrat, a potential presidential candidate who just 10 days ago urged caution on talk of impeaching President Trump, raised the prospect Wednesday morning in a message to his 3.1 million Twitter followers.

"When the truth comes out (and it will) & if the president has committed crimes, we (the people) will fight and win in the battle to impeach," Booker tweeted.

On May 28, the senator sounded a different note, telling CNN, "I'm not going to rush to impeachment," and adding, "I think we need to deal with this in a very sobered way."

While some in the Democratic base  — and Congress — have eagerly promoted the idea of ousting Trump, other party leaders have urged a more measured approach, worrying that overreaching will backfire.

Booker has usually tried to promote a more uplifting and less combative message, recently telling a liberal conference, for instance, that the Democratic agenda cannot focus solely on opposing the president.

But as he and numerous other Democrats eye 2020, they are also facing a party base eager for battle against Trump.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), another potential presidential candidate, had already expressed support for impeaching Trump if he did in fact impede an investigation into whether his campaign collaborated with Russia in its meddling in the 2016 presidential race.

But others on the left have warned against getting ahead of the facts.

"I don't think you want to make that leap to impeachment until you follow a path which leads us there," Sen. Bernie Sanders (Ind., Vt.), yet another potential 2020 candidate, recently said at a CNN forum. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I'm not there at this point."