Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.) said at CNN's Democratic Leadership Debate on Wednesday night that President Trump has "already done a number things" that could lead to his impeachment.
CNN's Dana Bash, a co-host of the debate, asked Ellison, the frontrunner to be the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, if he agrees with some of his Democratic colleagues calling for Trump's impeachment or others, such as House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.), who say it is too early for that.
"Congressman Ellison, three of your colleagues in the House–Maxine Waters, Jamie Raskin, and Joaquin Castro–have publicly raised the specter of impeaching President Trump," Bash said. "Do you stand with them or with House Leader Nancy Pelosi who believes impeachment talk is premature?"
Ellison said that Trump has already taken numerous actions to warrant a possible impeachment.
"I think that Donald Trump has already done a number of things which legitimately raise the question of impeachment," Ellison said.
The example he gave was Trump being in violation of the Emoluments Clause, citing his hotel in Washington, D.C.
"I mean, on day one he was–on day one he was in violation of the Emoluments Clause," Ellison said. "This is a part of the Constitution that says as the president you can't get payments from a foreign power. The day people checked into his hotel and started paying him, were from foreign dignities, dignitaries, he was in violation of that law."
He then called for investigations into the president's activities to "protect our Constitution."
"I think that we need to begin investigations to not go after Donald Trump but to protect our Constitution and the presidency of the United States to make sure that nobody can monetize the presidency and make profit off it for their own gain," he said.
The CNN debate featured several of the candidates vying to head the DNC.