Elizabeth Warren on impeachment hearings: ‘Let’s do it’

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Lawmakers question Acting U.S. Ambassador the Ukraine William Taylor and George Kent, a deputy assistant secretary at the State Department.

CONCORD, N.H. -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts reiterated her strong support for the House Democrats’ impeachment inquiry into President Trump.

Warren, who was in New Hampshire Wednesday to file to place her name on the Granite State's presidential primary ballot, also took another shot at former New York City mayor and billionaire business and media mogul Mike Bloomberg, who’s taking steps towards jumping into the Democratic race.

And she told Fox News that a potential entry this week by former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick wouldn’t complicate her own White House bid.

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Warren –  one of the first Democratic White House hopefuls to call for Trump’s impeachment -- told reporters after filing that “I believe it is appropriate for this impeachment inquiry to go forward. I think it should have happened earlier, but we're here now. Let’s do it.”

When asked if she had been watching the testimony from the televised public hearing, Warren said: “I just haven’t been able to catch up with it. Fortunately, I will catch up tonight.”

If the Democratic-controlled House impeaches the president, the GOP-led Senate would then hold a trial which could lead to Trump’s removal from office. Such a trial would probably keep Warren and the other Senate Democrats running for president off the campaign trail during the weeks leading up to the first nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts files to place her name on the New Hampshire primary ballot in Concord Wednesday.

"I have Constitutional responsibilities," Warren said. "I took an oath of office, as did everyone in Congress and part of that oath of office is the basic principle that no one is above the law. That includes the president of the United States. And if the House goes forward and sends an impeachment over to the Senate, then I will be there for the trial.”

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Warren told Fox News that she hadn’t talked with Patrick in recent days and said “no” when asked if the fellow Massachusetts Democrat’s potential entry into the race would complicate her own campaign. When asked about Patrick's years working at investment firm Bain Capital, Warren answered “I’m not here to criticize other Democrats. I’m here to talk about why I’m running for president.”

Patrick is likely to announce his candidacy on Thursday by video or social media, multiple outlets reported on Wednesday. He would then travel to neighboring New Hampshire on Friday the last day for candidates to file to place their names on the primary ballot.

Patrick isn’t the only Democrat likely to launch a campaign at this late date in the primary cycle. Bloomberg has placed his name on the presidential primary ballots in Alabama and Arkansas in recent days as he moves closer to launching a White House run.

I believe that what our election should be about is grassroots. How you build something all across New Hampshire, all across the country, and that we really shouldn’t have elections that are about billionaires calling all the shots, whether they’re reaching into their pockets to fund their own elections or whether they’re counting on getting other people to run," said Warren, who’s been critical of Bloomberg in recent days.

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“I’ve noticed that billionaires go on TV and cry," she added. "Other billionaires encourage their billionaire buddies to jump into the race."

Warren may have been referring to billionaire Omega Advisors CEO Leon Cooperman, who lamented during an interview on CNBC last week that Trump is dividing and polarizing Americans while Warren is pushing “Idiocy.” Like many other billionaires, Cooperman has heavily criticized Warren’s proposed tax on the richest Americans, calling it a “bankrupt concept.”