U.S. Sen. Doug Jones spoke to students and community members on Auburn’s campus about the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump and the Alabama Republican Party’s call for him to support the popular opinion among his constituents.
According to AL.com, Terry Lathan, chairperson of the Alabama GOP, called the impeachment inquiry a coup and called on Jones to support Trump, given his popularity among Alabamians.
“I said, ‘You know what? My job is to determine the facts,’” Jones said. “’I’m going to stand by my oath of office.’”
Jones said he thinks the allegations are serious but doesn’t recommend making any quick judgements about the inquiry until all of the facts of the situation are known. He used his work as an attorney to exemplify how opinions about a case can change as more information is learned.
“I think that when we are trying to do our constitutional duty, I think there is a constitutional duty on the part of the administration, also, to cooperate and not hide behind … partisan political rhetoric,” Jones said.
He said he thinks the pullout of American troops from Syria is a serious problem.
“We cannot govern this country on the whim of a telephone call and a tweet,” Jones said. “The Kurdish forces in Syria helped us defeat ISIS … and now we are going to abandon them.”
Jones said the ISIS fighters in the custody of the Kurds would likely be released if the Kurds have to defend themselves against a Turkish invasion.
“If the President of the United States doesn’t think that [pulling troops out of Syria] is a green light for Turkish forces to come in there and take over, [he’s] wrong,” Jones said.
According to Jones, this action puts the entire area and the United States at risk.
“It sends the wrong message to our friends and allies: ‘We want your help, we want you to do all you can to help us, and at some point we are just going to walk away from you,’” Jones said.
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