Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger on Monday said it's "hard to tell" who to believe between Donald Trump vs. James Comey but that something bigger than politics or elections is on the line for this country — democracy.
Appearing on CNN's "New Day" morning program, Kinzinger, R-Ill., was asked who he believes — former FBI Director Comey or President Trump.
"It's hard to tell. That's why we need every iteration of information," Kinzinger told CNN. "What it comes down to is this: if you are Republican in some cases, every new piece of information you say, 'It is not real. It is not true.'
"If you are my friends on the other side of the aisle, every piece of information you automatically assume is true and scream for impeachment. I heard a few do this.
"This for me is about bigger than what it means for 2018. What this means for 2020 and what this means — this is about defending the entire institution of democracy," Kinzinger said.
"My bigger concern is we look and say we hold our leaders accountable. We need all of the information to hold them accountable."
Kinzinger said he was concerned with Comey's testimony last week, but added he's not sure it rises to the "level of obstruction of justice" on the part of the president.
"Without a doubt, the president acted improperly to ask" Comey to drop the investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn.
"Now, does that rise to the level of obstruction of justice? I don't know. I haven't heard people make the strong case that it does. There is a lot of information that needs to come out. People have to have patience," Kinzinger said.
Kinzinger addressed the issue of whether there are Oval Office tapes of the Trump-Comey conversations and the president's flirtatious Twitter hints that there are.
"There area lot of times I don't know what to make of something on Twitter or anything else," Kinzinger said. "I just know if there are tapes, we want the tapes. I just know that if in fact the president is telling the truth on this, that he did not say any of those things to James Comey, tapes will vindicate him.
"Frankly, people calling for impeachment will look bad by having jumped to that conclusion."
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