During an interview with MSNBC News New York on Saturday, California Senator and 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris repeated her call to impeach the president.
Alluding to her previous work as a prosecutor, Harris told the reporter, "I do support proceeding with a process toward impeachment because, listen, I've seen people go to prison for far less than the evidence we have right now in terms of this president."
Harris has not been shy in calling on Congress to begin taking steps to remove the president from office since the release of the Mueller report in April.
At a town hall event that month, Harris joined with Elizabeth Warren as one of the first Democratic presidential candidates to speak in favor of impeachment. At that time she said, "It is very clear that there is a lot of good evidence pointing to obstruction."
Her remarks on Saturday were consistent with that view, but the reference to her own legal career elicited mixed reviews on social media.
Harris's records as attorney general for the state of California and San Francisco district attorney have come under fire since the beginning of her campaign, with some progressives deeming her previous stances on issues like marijuana possession unfair.
Democratic congresswoman and fellow presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard brought up Harris's prosecutorial record during the Democratic debate on July 31, saying she was "deeply concerned" by several of Harris' accomplishments.
Gabbard continued, alleging that Harris had "put 1,500 people in jail for marijuana violations and then laughed about it," blocked evidence in a death row case, and that she had kept California prisoners jailed past their release dates in order to use them as cheap labor, among other allegations.
Gabbard's remarks echoed talking points that have appeared on social media since last spring, often accompanied by the hashtag, #KamalaHarrisIsACop.
At the debate, Harris fired back, saying that her knowledge of the "deeply broken" justice system would enable her to enact meaningful reform, adding that she was "proud" of the work she had done to make California a "national model" for criminal justice reform.
Harris will have the opportunity to defend her legacy again at the next Democratic debate in September.
The qualifications to participate in the next round of debates include fundraising and polling thresholds. Candidates qualify by raising funds from more than 130,000 individual donors, with at least 400 donors in each of 20 states. To be approved candidates also have to win at least 2 percent of voters in four or more polls approved by the Democratic National Committee by Aug. 28.