La Crosse Rep. Ron Kind supports Trump probe

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, D-La Crosse, says he supports investigating a whistleblower’s complaint about a phone call President Donald Trump made that has resulted in a formal impeachment inquiry.

Kind stopped short of saying he supports impeachment. Wisconsin’s two other Democratic members of Congress, Gwen Moore and Mark Pocan, have long backed impeachment.

In a statement Kind said: “The reports of a whistleblower complaint alleging that the president actively coerced a foreign government to meddle in our election are extremely concerning. The administration must hand over the whistleblower report, as required by law, so Congress can investigate these claims as part of its constitutional duties. As a former special prosecutor, I know no one is above the law — not even the president.”

None of Wisconsin’s four congressional Republicans have said they support impeachment over the president’s call to the president of Ukraine and the discussion of investigating former Vice President Biden and his son.

Kind represents a western Wisconsin district that Trump won in 2016 by 4 points over Hillary Clinton. In the 2016 presidential primary, Bernie Sanders won La Crosse County over Clinton with 62.8 percent of the vote. On the Republican side, Trump got 41.5 percent of the vote. Ted Cruz was second with 37.3 percent.