Gov. Phil Scott addresses reporters Thursday in Essex Junction Credit: Paul Heintz

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott has become the first Republican state leader to embrace the U.S. House’s investigation of President Donald Trump.

“I support getting the facts in that inquiry that’s happening today,” Scott said Thursday morning at an Essex Junction press conference. “I think these are serious allegations, and we need to make sure that we do the fact-finding and figure out what exactly did happen.”

Asked specifically whether he supported House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) decision this week to launch a formal impeachment inquiry, Scott said, “Well, I think the inquiry’s important. Yes.”

The second-term governor, who has long distanced himself from the Republican president, declined to say whether he believed Trump had committed impeachable offenses and said he would not “predetermine” what actions Congress should take in the future. “At this point, I just want to make sure what we’re actually talking about,” he said.

Scott made his remarks two days after Pelosi announced that the House would probe whether Trump improperly pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate a political rival, former vice president Joe Biden. The governor first weighed in on the inquiry late Wednesday in a written statement to the Associated Press, in which he referred to it as “appropriate.”

“Most realize impeachment is a very serious issue and should not be taken lightly or abused,” he said in the statement.

At Thursday’s press conference, Scott also reacted to a five-page memo released Wednesday that reconstructed a July conversation between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents. The governor said he hadn’t found Trump’s conduct in the call “surprising.”

Asked why that was the case, Scott said, “I’ve just watched him over the last few years. It wasn’t surprising to me what he said in the transcript.”

Related

Scott joins several other statewide officials in supporting the impeachment inquiry. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have both done so, while Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) has taken the additional step of calling for Trump’s impeachment.

Rebecca Holcombe, a former state education secretary who is seeking the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, called on Scott late Wednesday to take a position on the inquiry.

“Pressuring a foreign government to tamper with our elections is an abuse of power and against the law,” Holcombe wrote on Twitter. “This is a moment for leaders to step up for what’s right. I support the impeachment inquiry. @GovPhilScott, where do you stand?”

Correction, Sept. 26, 2019: Due to a transcription error, an earlier version of this story misquoted two words of Scott’s answer. He said, “I support getting the facts in that inquiry that’s happening today.”

Related Stories

Got something to say?

Send a letter to the editor and we'll publish your feedback in print!

Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

10 replies on “Phil Scott, Vermont’s GOP Governor, Endorses Impeachment Inquiry”

  2. The source ‘truenorthreports’ tells you all you need to know. If you need it spelled out for you. it’s a story laundering wingnut hack rag that repeats talking points without ever having an original thought.

    Party over country.

  3. Over these past three years so much time and resources have been wasted in this never ending search to find something to pin on Trump for the sole purpose of expelling him from office. The Dems are having the longest running temper tantrum in history.

  6. “Scott’s just burnishing his cred with dopey Democrats who’ll vote for him just because of this fact.”

    Oh, heaven forbid the possibility that he’s joining the call for impeachment because he believes it’s the right thing to do, as do other Republicans! And heaven forbid “dopey Democrats” should vote for a moderate guy who had the guts to stand up to the gun nuts and the Trumpsters! And, oh, those “dopy Democrats!” Yes, we should hate them because they’re not socialists!

  7. The idea that blue state governors like Scott, Baker, Hogan et al have “guts to stand up to the Trumpsters” is the biggest falsehood in contemporary political punditry.

    The reality is just the opposite. Reading and understanding your constituents concerns–in this case Vermonters’ overwhelming disgust of the Trump administration and its enablers like Moscow Mitch and Kevin McCarthy–and then acting on your constituents’ concerns does not take “guts.” Phil Scott’s mild endorsement of the inquiry (which I personally believe is appropriate and a common-sense comment) is an example of caving to political pressure, which was brought by Holcombe in the VT Dem’s never ending effort to paint Phil as a Trump Republican. Let’s stop pretending our feckless governor has courage.

  8. Sorry, we’ll just have to disagree. Scott in no way was politically compelled to endorse the impeachment inquiry, at least at this point in time, esp. considering that the state’s two senators, Uberdemocrat Leahy and Uberleftist Sanders, don’t even support impeachment.

    https://www.sevendaysvt.com/OffMessage/arc…

    And, yes, it took guts to buck the gun lobby, which is a significant force in VT. Just ask former Congressman Peter Smith why he lost to Sanders for Congress in 1990.

    https://www.sevendaysvt.com/vermont/sticki…

  10. Unsurprisingly, Trump’s characterization of the letter is an outright lie: “In the letter, they implied that their support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine was at stake and that if they didn’t do the right thing, they wouldn’t get any assistance.” In fact, the letter never mentions US assistance at all. There is nothing that suggests or implies anything about aid. Indeed, reading the letter, one would never even know that there IS aid from the US to the Ukraine. The closest the letter comes to Trump’s false description is this sentence: “Ours is a relationship built on a foundation of respect for the rule of law and accountable democratic institutions.”

    Nor did the letter ask the Ukrainians to “investigate Trump.” Instead it asks them to stop blocking the Mueller investigation if indeed they are doing so. The letter closes with 3 questions, the first of which is this: “Has your office taken any steps to restrict cooperation with the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller?” The next 2 questions hinge on the first.

    The letter is 1 and a half pages. Those interested should read it. tinyurl.com/yy8w7qgb But the notion that there is any parallel between this letter and Trump’s phone call is totally outrageous. About the only thing they have in common is that Ukraine and the US were involved in both cases.

Comments are closed.