Rep. Golden deeply concerned but not ready to impeach

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) sets the record straight as to where he stands on the impeachment inquiry.

House Democrats are investigating whistle-blower complaints that the president withheld aid to Ukraine in order to strong-arm the country into providing political favors for his re-election.

Golden is one of about a dozen Democrats who represents a district that voted for the president in 2016.

He said he would have preferred to see other investigatory avenues pursued prior to politicizing the matter by launching an impeachment inquiry. But, given that's the path the House is on, he does want to see the inquiry get to the bottom of what happened.

Golden said he’s deeply concerned by the public facts of the case that have emerged thus far, but won’t decide whether he will ultimately vote for or against impeachment until he can weigh all of the evidence. And, he said fact finding should not be rushed.

“This is something that has been brought to us by an intelligence community member, we need to take it seriously, we need to investigate it," he said, "but more important than some kind of timeline or speed is getting it right.”

Golden noted Rudy Giuliani’s involvement with the Ukrainian discussions as especially problematic.

The White House insists none of the president’s actions were inappropriate.

Golden is not on one of the six committees that will be deeply-involved with impeachment inquiry hearings.

While he said he will follow developments closely, he also emphasized that Congress must continue working on issues affecting everyday Americans during the investigation.