Trump because hes broken his convenant with the American People. In doing so, we are using the powers the Founding Fathers enshrined in the constitution. To address a president who has violated his oath of office. The evidence is clear antifacts are without question. President trump is consistently enengaged in a pattern of behavior inconsistent with the rule of law. Hes refused to take responsibility for his actions. He has undermined the checks and balances we rely on by obstructing congress at every turn. Most importantly, he has abused his power by using his office to solicit foreign interference in our elections, undermining the will of the people. On this sad day for our nation, i will do what the president has so often failed to do. I will fulfill my oath to support and defend the constitution and i will vote in favor of impeachment. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time it is my pleasure to yield two minutes to the gentleman from ohio, mr. Chabot. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Chabot madam speaker, today is a sad day in our nations history as House Democrats are poised to approve on a strictly partyline vote arkteles of impeachment based on what constitutional kohl lar Jonathan Turley called wafer thin evidence. This will set a dangerous precedent where impeachment becomes the norm rather than the exception. Thats not what our Founding Fathers intended. They wanted impeachment to be rare. They set a high bar for impeachment, treason, bribery, high crimes and misdemeanors. Alleged abuse of power, the first article is not a high crime and misdemeanor. In fact, its not even a crime. Since there is no concise Legal Definition of abuse of power, the Majority Party in the house can designate nearly any disagreement with the president from now on an impeachable offense. The second article alleged obstruction of congress would produce a similarly dangerous precedent. Asserting executive privilege, a practice that began with George Washington, is not obstruction of congress. Rather, its a function of the essential checks and balances contell nated under the contemplated under the constitution. Nears what nearly every Grade School Student in america knows but apparently House Democrats do not. Of if congress disagreed with the president , if they dont agree with the president , take it to court. Let the third branch of government decide. The house has never approved abuse of power or as articles of impeachment but thats going to change today. The democrats are pursuing a wacky theory under which all four president s on mount rush mr could have been impeached. If it sounds absurd, its because it is absurd. Its been absurd from the outset. Heres whats not absurd but rather frightening. House democrats are setting a dangerous precedent under which no future president will be immune from impeachment and it will forever negatively tarnish the history of this house. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, the president s conduct constituted the highest of high crimes against our country. An offense doesnt have to violate a criminal statute to be impeachable, that was confirmed in president nixons case and again in president clintons. Theres no higher crime than for the president to use the power of his office to corrupt our election. I yield one minute to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Pocan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Pocan this july, President Trump blocked 400 million in aid ukraine needed to defend itself against russia because he needed ukraine to do him a favor first. He asked ukraine the president of ukraine to launch an investigation into a political rival, military aid would come after. This is not about a single call or single transcript. This is a perfect storm, months of activity directly ordered by the president to his senior cabinet, aning or an orchestrated plan to have a foreign power interfere in our democracy. President trump abused the power of his office for personal and political gain and refused to cooperate with a coequal branch of govement this is setting a precedent for future president s democrat or republican. Donald trump must be held accountable for his action. Today we send a clear signal to this president and all future president s, no one is above the law. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from kansas, mr. Marshall. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Marshall i rise in opposition to the impeach. Of the legitimately elected president of the United States. Enough. For the love of this country, enough. Enough of this impeachment circus. Enough of these sham witch hunts. Im voting no because the president has done nothing wrong. The only thing the president that President Trump is guilty of is doing the thing he is said he would do. And if my democrat colleagues were honest theyd tell us the only thing President Trump is guilty of is not being Hillary Clinton. The only party guilty of obstruction, abuse of power or whatever focus groups term theyre using today is the party on the other side of this aisle. Theyre obstructing the woifl the American People. Theyre obstructing the very foundations of our country. By politically weaponizing impeachment they have dangerously shattered president and precedent and abused our constitution. They alone will bear this responsibility. Madam speaker, theyll fail. And its no wonder the American People dont trust this body. Its past time to be done with this circus and get to the work that matters, like se keurig borders and passing trade deals. I will vote no and encourage this body to move on from this heartbreaking, disgraceful day to things that actually matter. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentleman from north carolina, mr. Price. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Price madam speaker, the moment our founders anticipated establishing the power of impeachment has arrived. The evidence is clear. President trump abused his power by asking a as a rule neble foreign leader to investigate both his political rival and a baseless russian Conspiracy Theory. While with holding congressionally appropriated defense aid and a coveted white house visit. He then blocked congressional investigation into these abuses. These abuses threaten the integrity of our elections, they corrupt our diplomacy, and they undermine National Security. We sometimes regard constitutional checks and balances as the indestructible underpinnings of our democracy. In fact, theyre not fixed, theyre not indestructible. The president has demonstrated this beyond all doubt. Its up to the congress, the first branch of government, to apply the remedy that the constitution prescribes because the threats to our democracy are real and present. With this vote we affirm that no one, including the president , is above the law. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from kentucky. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Since the beginning of this impeachment inquiry its been troubling to see the partisan, divisive way in which democrats have carried out this process. I guess we shouldnt be surprised, though. They promised theyd unseat this president since the day he took his oath of office. From the start, this has been a baseless attempt to undo the will of 63 million americans who voted for President Trump. Mr. Comer i can tell you, the people i represent in kentucky, the very people who voted for this president to enact change and fight for this country, are apalled at the charade theyve seen in the house in recent months. They are apalled at the actions from House Democrats. Who have failed to even come close to proving their case. I hope all of my Congressional Colleagues carefully consider the precedent theyre set big voting in favor of this sham process and these illegitimate articles of impeachment. These articles were written and built on a report that was drafted be biased presumptions, cherrypicked witnesses and vastly disputed facts. The president did not commit any impeachable offense. And its clear for all of us to see through the now very well known transcript, rigged process sets a concerning precedent for impeachable offenses moving forward. I whole heartedly oppose these baseless articles of impeachment. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Peters. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Peters thank you, madam speaker. Many lamented that this effort is not bipartisan but thats on my republican colleagues. Republicans have not sought the truth. They have sowlingt to avoid the truth. They have demeaned and insulted witnesses, patriots, warriors, career diplomats, who provided evidence against the president. No House Republican has joined us to demand that documents an witnesses that President Trump has refused to produce. Instead, republican lead shers week announced that President Trump can set the rules of his own trial and therell be no fact witnesses. Republicans refuse to seek the truth and condemn the abuse of power or to work with us to prevent this ongoing behavior in the future. Thats tragedy of todays event. In our nations history, thousands of americans have gone into battle without reservation to fight for our republic as they still do today. Many have been gravely injured, some have made the ultimate sacrifice. But today in contrast, for fear of losing an election, my colleagues will not speak up for the rule of law. Or against president ial abuse of power. Voters may give them a pass but history will judge them harshly. I will vote for the articles of impeachment. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. It is my privilege now to yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from georgia, mr. Loudermilk. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Loudermilk i thank my colleague from georgia and friend, mr. Collins. I rise in opposition not only to the articles of impeachment but in strong opposition to the process that has brought us to this point. Our constitution and bill of rights are all about process. Our founders knew that a government without constraints could accuse anyone of any crime at any time even without compelling evidence. Thats why the fifth and 14th amendments established a bedrock principle of innocent until Proven Guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. On november 14, Speaker Pelosi informed the president , the president should prove his innocence when she stated mr. President if you have anything that shows your innocence he should make that known. The constitution also guarantees that the accused can call witnesses to testify on their behalf. But the republicans and the president were continually denied that right throughout this process. The sixth amendment guarantees the right of the defendant to face their accuser but not only the democrats prohibited republican and the president from questioning the socall whistleblower, his identity has been kept secret. Before you take this historic vote today, one week before christmas, i want you to keep this in mind. When jesus was falsely accuse of treason, Pontius Pilate gave jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, pontius mylat afforded more rights to jesus than the democrats have afforded this president and this process. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler the president was given the opportunity to come and testify before the Judiciary Committee, to send his counsel, to question witnesses, he declined to do so. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from michigan, mr. Kildee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Kildee thank you, madam speaker. This is a sad day for our country and for our democracy. The president has abused the powers of his office, betrayed the public trust, and undermined Americas National security by pressuring a Foreign Government to interfere in our elections for his own political gain. In this moment in our history the constitution is clear. The remedy for such misconduct by a president is impeachment. I didnt come here to congress to impeach a president of the United States, but sadly, the president s misconduct leaves us no choice but to follow the constitution. I have two grandchildren. My granddaughter kaitlyn is 8, my grandson collin is 4. Someday, a long time from now, theyll ask me about this day. Theyll ask about the time a president put himself above the law. And theyll want to know what i did to stop him. I will have an answer for them. Today i vote to uphold the constitution. I will vote to impeach donald trump. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. It is interesting that the president was supposedly given rights at the Judiciary Committee but who would he ask questions of, three Law School Professors and a staff member . Not a lot of due process there. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from texas. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. We are here today because House Democrats have spent upwards of 30 million in three years try to overturn the 2016 election of President Trump and come up with nothing. Because of their radical left wing, democrats are willing to make all future president ial elections invalid until judged worthy by the majority in the house of representatives. The president of the United States does not serve at the pleasure of the house of representatives. Mr. Babin programs the greatest denial of perhaps the greatest denial of reality regarding President Trump is acknowledging that under his policies things are actually going much better than they have in decades for working americans. Were a democratic, Constitutional Republic in which power flows from we the people to our president and elected officials. The democrat majority thinks otherwise. They believe that theyre entitled to rule us, even if they have to change the rules to invalidate the will and votes of the people of america. That is why the absence of a case does not matter in this charade of impeachment. I believe that the American People recognize and share my urgency about what is at stake here. Madam speaker, you and your majority may decide today but i have faith that the American People will decide otherwise next november. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from washington, the gentlelady from washington. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Thank you, madam speaker. I rise in support of this resolution. After carefully reviewing all of the evidence and the articles of impeachment before us, it is clear that President Trump abused the power of the presidency and on tructed congress. I did not come to this conclusion lightly. Impeachment is an extremely serious matter. But no president can be allowed to pressure a foreign country for personal and political gain. Ms. Delbene no president is above the law. His behavior jeopardized the integrity of elections, put our National Security at risk and placed his personal interests above those of the American People. His his obstruction has prevented the house from conducting etc. Constitutional duty of oversight of the executive branch, by failing to uphold his oath of office, President Trump forces each of us as members of the house of representatives to uphold ours. I urge my colleagues to do just that and defend our democracy. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Riggleman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Riggleman thank you, madam speaker. I oppose this impeachment effort and will vote no on the articles of impeachment. I represent the Fifth District of virginia, which is home to so many Founding Fathers. Whose visions shaped the great country we are living in today. Thomas jefferson and James Madison are not around to see what their creation has become. But i dont think they would be pleased to see congress subverting the will of democracy by holding an Impeachment Vote because the Majority Party simply cannot accept the 2016 election. Instead of wasting the taxpayers time and money on specious investigations, we could have passed legislation to address surprised medical billing, secure the border, address the opioid epidemic, reduce student debt and solve a litany of other issues that americans actually care about. Tomorrow we might have a vote on the usmca, which we should have passed months ago, had it not been for the obstruction and delays from democrats. Delays that are made that have made farmers in mue farmers in my district and other districts suffer. The decisions we made to lead up to this proceeding wreaks of careerist bureaucrats and politicians that put politics over people. I was not elected to take political votes that attempt to overturn the will of the American People. I ran for office to serve my constituents. Lets remember thats why we are here. Weaponizing a motion is not the way to serve the United States of america and to my colleagues who coust doe just that, i offer a quote, to argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. Thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i would remind the gentleman that the house has passed over 400 bills. 275 bipartisan bills. Driving down costs of health care and prescription drugs, raising wages, rebuilding infrastructure, taking on corruption and selfdealing in washington. 80 of these bills are languishing on senator mcconnells desk. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from ohio, ms. Kaptur. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Kaptur madam speaker, i thank the chairman for yielding. I wish to place on the record that members of congress swear a solemn oath to protect and defend the constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic, and today we fulfill our oath by defending liberty. The central figure, testing americas resolve, is not here in washington today. Rather, the closeted villain sits in moscow at the kremlin. Vladimir putin has coordinated murders, election hacking, propaganda, the entrapment of willing fools, and greedy underlings who put their own selfish interests over liberty. Putin seeks to sow disarray and destabilize democracies and the nato alliance. At putins direction, russia illegally invaded ukraine in 2014, and as ukraine defends europes eastern flank, 14,000 people have been killed at putins hand with over two million displaced. Rather than stand up rather than stand up to putin, President Trump and his minions aided putin. First in hastening russian interference in our 2016 elections, and then more recently, withholding vital military aid from ukraine to coerce its interference in our 2020 elections where mr. For mr. Trumps personal gain. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. Ms. Kaptur might i end by saying, onward liberty. Vote for the articles of impeachment. Mr. Collins madam speaker, at this time i yield a minute and half to the gentleman from north carolina, dr. Murphy. Mr. Murphy i rise in opposition to these baseless articles of ppaca and the unprecedented process thats been used in this effort to impeach the duly elected president of the United States. It is a mockery of american justice. In 1788, one of our Founding Fathers, Alexander Hamilton, wrote in the federalist papers, in many cases impeachment will connect itself with the preexisting conditioning faxes factions and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger, that their decision will be regulated more by the comparable strength of parties, majority and minority, than by real demonstrations of innocents or innocence or guilty. What does this mean . Guilt. What does this mean . It means that the majority can exert its influence regardless of justice. In this statement, hamilton warned us about the danger of mob rule. Democrats have a criminal and have been searching for a crime for three years. But this president has not committed a crime. As the leader of American Foreign policy, the president has a constitutional obligation to root out corruption in countries to which we provide aid. This is not an abuse of power, it is his job. One of the articles is obstruction of congress. The only thing thats been obstructed is this president s right to due process. I dont blame the president for refusing to fully participate in this guilty until proven innocent circus. This is not how our Founding Fathers framed american justice. This is a tragic day in our nations history. We have individuals that hate this president more than they love this country. Our country needs prayer and not this destructive partisanship. Thank you, i yield back. Mr. Collins i reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, the president s obstruction is unprecedented and categorical. President trump claims that the house cannot investigate his misconduct outside of an impeachment inquiry. He defies lawful congressional subpoenas and then he sues to block third parties from complying with such subpoenas. Even as he pursues his own interest in court, his administration simultaneously argues that congress is barred from obtaining judicial enforcement when executive Branch Officials disregard its subpoenas. So when can the president be held accountable for his wrongdoing . In his mind, never. The constitution, however, disagrees. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from the District Of Columbia, ms. Holmes norton. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one inute. Ms. Norton madam speaker, my words are my only remedy today in spite of the upcoming d. C. Statehood vote we expect to be successful. The people of the District Of Columbia have no vote on impeachment or on any other matter on this floor now. I spoke on this floor on the impeachment of president clinton 20 years ago. Unlike the clinton impeachment on perjury concerning an affair with an intern, trumps impeachment turns on sabotage of National Security to get himself reelected. Clinton repented. Trump insists that he did nothing wrong. Thats a promise to continue his long pattern of abuse of power and obstruction of congress. Impeachment is our only recourse. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back the balance of her time. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from colorado, a member of the Judiciary Committee, mr. Buck. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Buck thank you, madam speaker. I thank the gentleman from georgia. Today democrats lower the bar for impeachment. Under the standard of under this standard, a president can be impeached in the absence of a crime, without due process and for asserting a legally constitutionally recognized privilege. History shows democrat president s have abused power to undermine democracy and win elections and yet they have not been impeached. President Franklin Roosevelt used the i. R. S. To target his political opponents. His son later admitted f. D. R. Used, quote, the i. R. S. As a weapon of political retribution. President john f. Kennedy used the f. B. I. To wiretap and monitor political opponents, including congressional staff. He deported one of his mistresses to avoid scandal. President Lyndon Johnson spied on goldwaters campaign, signing off on wiretapping his opponent and goldwaters airplane and using a c. I. A. Spy to obtain advanced copy of goldwaters strategies and speeches. President barack obama refused to provide documents to Congress Related to fast and furious. His unconstitutional recess appointments were unanimously struck down by the supreme court. He used National Security agencies to lie to the American People about benghazi to win the 2012 election. He spied on reporters. Finally, it was the Obama Administration that committed 17 serious violations before the fisa court to spy on Trump Campaign associates. Despite these clear abuses of power by f. D. R. , j. F. K. , l. B. J. And obama, republicans did not impeach. Why . Because the framers did not want a low bar for impeachment. They wanted congress and the president to work out their differences. When i asked professor turly in a Judiciary Committee hearing if any president could avoid impeachment with this low standard, he said no. I yield back. Mr. Collins reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i would remind the gentleman that president obama provided thousands of pages of information to congressional requests, that attorney general holder and others testified. Unlike now. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from illinois, ms. Kelly. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Kelly madam speaker, today is a solemn day in america. A day that none of us hope for when we came to congress. But the events of today are something that each of us swore that we were prepared to execute and de in defense of the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This is the oath that binds the men and women of the 116th congress as our democracy implores we defend her. A clear and present threat to american democracy is what brings us here. The arc tect, a president who asks that a foreign nation interfere in our election. This was our Founding Fathers greatest fear. I cast a solemn vote for the many individuals in my district who entrusted me to be their voice in congress. They entrusted me to uphold our constitution for them. I vote yes for sara in chicago, doug in kankakee, diane in flossmore, yes for catherine and jimmy in park forest. The facts are simple. The path forward is clear. Impeachment is not an option, it is an obligation, because no one is above the law. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time it is my privilege to yield two minutes to the gentleman from pennsylvania, another member of the Judiciary Committee. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Reschenthaler thank you. In the navy we had a saying. Bluff. Bottom line up front. Ill give you the bottom line. Democrats are terrified that President Trump is going win reelection. They cant beat him on the merits. So democrats are caving to their farleft radical base and theyre using the thoughts and the feelings and the assumptions of some unnamed bureaucrats rather than relying on facts and law to impeach a duly elected president. Let me be clear. This is nothing more than a political hit job. Ive been on all sides of the courtroom. I was a prosecutor in the navy, i was a defense attorney in the navy. I was a district judge in nye hometown. My hometown. Let me tell you, as lawyer i would defend this case every day of the week. As a judge, i would dismiss this on day one for lack of merit. Theres no case here. Ill tell you who id prosecute, though. I would prosecute adam schiff for abuse of power. Why . How about the fact that he used his position as chairman to leak phone records of mr. Nunes. How about the fact that he dumped documents 48 hours before a hearing . That is the abuse of power. Obstruction id prosecute the democrats for obstruction. How about the fact that the judiciary democrats voted down my request to subpoena the whistleblower . How about the fact that chairman nadler refused every single republican request for a fact witness . That is obstruction of congress. So again, let me be clear. Today is nothing more man a than a political hit job. Thank you, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Mr. Collins reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, once again i hear a lot of attacks on members of on democratic members of congress. But not one single word of substantive defense of the president s conduct. I now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from virginia, mr. Connolly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Connolly madam speaker, each of us here took an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States. Not the president and not our Political Party. Today history will judge, did we abide that oath . To extort a foreign country, to investigate your political opponent is an unconstitutional abuse of power. To solicit foreign interference in an American Election is an unconstitutional abuse of power. The need to protect against just such abuses prompted our founders to grant the sole power of impeachment to this house. The delicate balance of power, that underpins our democracy, is threatened when a president disregards the constitution by obstructing Congress Power to cover up illegal behavior, in doing that President Trump violated his oath. Today we must put country over party. Con stance over complicitity. Today we must assert no ones above the law. Today were summoned by history to do the right thing. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I know this is probably not true, but i think the speakers are not working on the majority side because i have talked about it, the facts. Lets go over it quickly. No pressure, no conditionality, no nothing was ever denied them when they got through. They actually got the money and they never did anything for it. We have talked about the facts. Thats a distraction that doesnt need to happen. With that, madam speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the ntleman from ohio, mr. Davidson. Mr. Davidson ive heard numerous colleagues say they didnt run for congress to impeach the president. Maybe not originally, but unfortunately from the moment proceedings began, after the fourth vote to launch an impeachment inquiry, todays vote was inevitable. Many of them campaigned on it. I love this country with a soldiers passion. I came here to defend freedom, not to deny due process to anyone. I came here to solve problems and solve the broken status quo, not to punish those like President Trump who deliver on promises to put america back on the path to peace and prosperity that has made and kept our country fee. For month americans have heard speculation about the president s motives in ukraine. Despite months of hearings and countless documents, americans have not seen proof that the president committed a high crime or misdemeanor. We have a republic, if we can keep it. This is disgraceful, dishonest process, its a discredit to this body and to our nation. I urge the house to drop these divisive articles of impeachment and get to work for the American People. I yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, how much could you tell me how much time both sides have left, please . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman has 2 two hours and two minutes. The gentleman from georgia has two hours and three minutes. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentlelady from new york, ms. Velazquez. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Velazquez the facts are clear. The president of the United States with held 400 million in military aid to an ally of the United States and also held back a white house meeting to compel a foreign nation to investigate his political opponent. At the exact time the president was doing this ukraine was engaged in a battle for its very existence with one of americas adversaries, russia. The president abused his power to pressure a foreign nation to dig up dirt on a political opponent and thats the truth. This was quite simply a geopolitical shakedown. The president then tried to Block Congress from exercising its constitutionally mandated duty to uncover the truth. Every single one of us today faces a stark choice. If we choose to turn a blind eye to put political expediency before the constitution, then we are complicit in this subversion of democracy. If we do not hold this president accountable, we have failed the people who sent us here and we have abdicated our own oath to defend the constitution. In the United States of america no one is above the law. The speaker pro tempore the gentleladys time has expired. Mr. Collin at this time its my pleasure to yield two minute those gentleman from alabama, mr. Byrnes. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Byrnes in three months receiving an unsubstan shated whistleblower complaint to articles of impeachment against the president of the United States. Not since Andrew Johnson has the house engaged in such a partisan political stunt. From the beginning this has been a sham and this house has been nothing but a star chamber. The democrat majority literally locked themselves in the basement of this building hiding from the American People. Mr. Byrne when my colleagues and i refused to stand for it, democrats moved to public hearings. But denied us questions. Denied us witnesses. And denied the president any meaningful opportunity defend himself. With this complete abuse of process, the democratic majority has produced this eflimsiest and most legally unsound articles of impeachment in the history of this nation. Never before has the house reported an article of impeachment that does not allege an underlying crime yet this majority will do so today. Read the transcripts. There was no quid pro quo. No prescribery no extortion. No crime. And no abuse of power. And they dont even allege a crime in their articles of impeachment. The president raising ukrainian corruption is not an impeachable offense. If the feelings of hunter biden were so deal offings hunter biden were so above board youd think the majority would be fine looking into this matter. Yet they havent moved my resolution asking for an investigation and our subpoenas for hunter biden have all been denied. Hunter biden doesnt get a pass because his dad was vice president. Im proud to have fought against this charade every step of the way and ill proudly hi vote no today. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Mad nadler i yield one minute to the gentlelady from wisconsin, ms. Moore. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Moore madam speaker, the facts are uncontestable, the evidence is overwhelming. The president grossly misused the office of president and obstructed congress and justice require this is impeachment i have feel compelled to respond to the false narrative that democrats are using this process to overturn an election. You know, i agree. Elections are the appropriate venue for Public Policy disputes. However, were not talking about a Public Policy dispute. Were talking about a president who subverted National Security by soliciting foreign interference in our elections. The exact thing our Founding Fathers feared. And the exact circumstance for which they drafted the impeachment clause. Our democracy, our constitution, eserves standing up for. I will leave my colleagues with this last thought as they decide how to cast this historic vote. For what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world only to lose his own soul. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from texas. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized far minute. Recognized for a minute and a half. This is the day the Founding Fathers feared when they granted congress the power of impeachment where we have a Political Party so dead set against the president that they will do anything to impeach him and theyre about to get away with it simply because they have the votes. But thats not how this process is supposed to work. Its not meant to be dictated by a thin partisan majority, nor sit meant to be used when an election is just around the corner. No one understands that better than our speaker, who i have Great Respect for and i agree with the comment she is made on march 6 of just this year. Impeachment is so divisive to the country, that unless theres something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, i dont think we should go down that path because it divides the nation. And thats exactly whats happened. When we walk out of here tonight we all know how this result is going to go. The democrats are voting for this. Not one republican is breaking. This is not bipartisan. The American People are disgusted with the United States house of representatives and we bring shame upon this body today by moving forward this impeachment. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Lowenthal. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Lowenthal thank you, madam speaker. The facts in this case are as simple as they are tragic. Weakness witness after witness attested to these facts. No one has crebly refuted them. Credibley refuted them. President trump tried coerce ukraine to interfere in the 2020 elections. He used the power of his office for political gain. By with holding aid to ukraine, the president endangered our ally, ukraine, and undermined our own National Security. When he got caught, the president attempted to cover up the crime and shut down any investigation by obstructing congress. We have overwhelming evidence that this president poses an urgent threat to our elections, to our National Security, and to the rule of law. Congress must vote to impeach him, protect our Constitutional Republic. There is no alternative. Thank you and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. The only urgent threat to this body is the clock and the calendar and the desire to impeach the president before we go home for christmas. With that, a minute and a half to the gentleman from tennessee, mr. Roe. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Roe today is a sad day in the peoples house. Since donald trump was elected in 2016, democrats have been on a crusade to stop him by any means. I believe the American People are the fairest people on this earth. They believe everyone should be treated equally under the law no matter what your station you occupy in life. Rich, poor, president , factory worker, fair. This process has been anything but fair. For two years, weve been told that thencandidate donald trump colluded with russians to interfere with our elections. Two years, millions of dollars spent on the Mueller Investigation no collusion. Youd think after being that wrong democrats would finally decide to work on the problems that the American People sent us here to do. Youd be wrong again. Then we were told the president with held money to the ukrainians in a quid pro go quo no, bribery, no abuse of power. I i guess whatever poll passed. To gain information on a political rival pork ten rble rival. Heres some facts. Fact numb one, the transcript of july 25 phone conversation shows no pressure. Fact number two, president zelensky did not know the money was with held. Fact three, no information occurred were was announced. Fact four, the money was released september 11, 2019. Facts are stubborn things. One member on the other side of the aisle said, quote, im concerned if we dont impeach this president , he will get reelected. End quote. That, madam speaker, says it all. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back, the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentlelady from oregon, ms. Bonamici. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Bonamici i take slires my oath to uphold and defend the constitution. I do not take todays proceedings lightly. The Founding Fathers included the impeachment process in the constitution uphold our values and to maintain the checks and balances that are essential to separation of powers and to democracy. They knew way back in 17 7 that a president could abuse the power of the office. In fact, they adopted the phrase high crimes and high crime crimes and misdemeanors from a phrase used in English Parliament since 1386, intended to cover situations where an official abused his putter and included disobeying aned orer from parliament. Donald trump abused the power of his office by inviting a Foreign Government to interfere in the u. S. Elections. And he did this not to help the United States but to benefit himself. Thats wrong an its an impeachable offense. Then when congress exercised our constitutional duty to investigate these wrongdoings he obstructed the investigation every step of the way. That is also wrong and its also an impeachable offense. In our country no one is above the law. That includes the president of the United States. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Kelly. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Kelly december is such a great month, there are so many great dates in december, we talk about wonderful things that have happened in decembers in the past. In addition to christmas being something we celebrate, the Boston Tea Party took place in december but also december 7, 1941, a horrific act happened in the United States, its one president roosevelt said this is a date that will live in infamy. Today, december 18, 2019, is another date that will live in infamy. When just because you hate the president of the United States, and you can find no other reason other than the fact that youre so blinded by your hate that you cant see straight youve decided the only way to make sure this president doesnt get elected again is to impeach him. On the floor of the peoples house, the bastion of democracy and liberty in the whole world, we have decided that political power is far more important than principle. I would urge all members of the house to vote no on impeachment and to look their voters in the eye and listen, let me tell you. The voters will remember next november what youre doing this december. This is a terrible time, this is a date that will live in infamy. Thank you, mr. Speaker, i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the members are reminded to address their remarks to the chair. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentlelady from florida, ms. Frankel. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Frankel in 1787 at the conclusion of the constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin was asked, do we have a republic or a monarchy . He responded, a republic if you keep it. Madam speaker, a republic is a form of government in which the country is considered a public matter, not the private concern or property of the rulers. In a republic, no person is above the law. In a republic, the president may not abuse his power by with holding critical foreign assistance for his own personal political gain. Nor may he stop witnesses from talking. I did not come to congress to impeach a president but i did take an oath to keep the republic. For our children and our grandchildren, we should do nothing less. One day, i will tell my grandson that i stood up for our democracy. I will vote yes to impeach the president. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady yields back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins at this time i yield one minute and 40 seconds to the gentleman from wisconsin, mr. Grothman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and 40 seconds. Mr. Grothman i would like to address why were here. Were not here because of a misquoted phone call in 2019. The Washington Post ran an article headline headlining the campaign to impeach President Trump has begun the day he was worn in sworn. The gentleman from maryland who spoke earlier called for impeach 789 two days before President Trump was sworn. In the gentleman from texas was introducing impeachment resolutions two years ago and said President Trump should be impeached so he cant get reelected. This impeachment is not about what happened on a phone call, its about what President Trump has done. The people in this country who are apprehended and dont have Legal Authority fell from 100,000 people in may to under 5,000 people in november and you hate him for it. Ben carson thinks that lowincome housing should be used by american citizens and not people who are here illegally and you hate him for it. President trump doesnt want people coming here and going on welfare, and you hate him for it. President trump renegotiated that ripoff trade agreement with mexico and canada that was let in place by president bush and president obama and you hate him for it. President trump sides with Law Enforcement instead of criminals and you hate him for siding with the police. President trump lets christian adoption agencies choose who they want to be parents and you dont like them for him for that. President trump wont let foreign aid go to agencies that perform abortions. You hate him for that. President trumps judges stick to the constitution, hes disliked for that. President trump is keeping his Campaign Promises and you hate him for that. I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. Collins reserve. The speaker pro tempore members are once again reminded to keep their remarks to the chair. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, we do not hate President Trump. But we do know that President Trump will continue to threaten the nations security, democracy and constitutional system if he is allowed to remain in office. That threat is not hypothetical. President trump has persisted during this impeachment inquiry in soliciting foreign powers to investigate his political opponents. The president steadfastly insists he did nothing wrong and is free to do it all again. That threatens our next election. As well as our constitutional democracy. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Mcnerney. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Mcnerney madam speaker, the house of representatives, the peoples house, is vested by the constitution with the power of impeachment to balance the power of the presidency. Without this essential duty, the president could exploit his Sacred Office without any regard for the law. On january 3, 2019, every member of the house swore an oath to defend the constitution and this week were being asked to do just that. When ases arose that the president allegations arose that the president tried to coerce a Foreign Government to help undermine the 2020 election, the house carried out its duty to investigate a potential abuse of power. But the president refused to cooperate and forbade his administration from doing so, obstructing congress from carrying out our sworn responsibility. If these actions bear no consequence, future president s may act without constraint and american democracy will be at an end. Therefore, compelled by my sworn duty to defend the constitution, i will vote to impeach this president. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield to my friend from florida, a minute and a half. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Thank you, madam speaker. Id like to address my colleagues on the other side of the aisle and reiterate president washingtons warning to the republic 223 years ago. The constitution rightly sets a high bar for impeachment, but the integrity of the process also depends on the ability of the legislators to vote their minds independent of party politics. Removing a president is too important and lawmakers are given too much latitude to define high crimes and misdemeanors for it to be any other way. Otherwise excessively partisan politician tigses could over politicians could overturn an election simply because the president is a member of the opposite and opposing party. It is in regard to this impeachment process that George Washington forewarned us as a nation at this moment in hift i had in history. Mr. Yoho when Political Parties may now and then answer popular ends, they are likeny in the course of time to become potent engines in one unprincipled men and women will be enabled to subvert the power of the people to usurp for themselves the reins of government. How wise he was. Vote no on this assault to our republic. The constitution republic, the constitution and against President Trump. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, john adams warned in a letter to Thomas Jefferson that these risks are unavoidable and might sometimes overlap. Quote, you are apprehensive of foreign interference, intrigue, influence. So am i. As long as often as elections happen, the danger of foreign influence occurs. Closed quote. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from michigan, mrs. Lawrence. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Mrs. Lawrence madam speaker, today history is being written. The facts are conclusive. The president attempted to use the power of the powerful office of president to force ukraine to influence our 2020 election. In the process, President Trump jeopardized our National Security and with held vital military withheld vital military assistance, attempted to prevent further russian aggression to our region. However, as our committees, including government oversight, which i sit on, and which im a member, sought to interview additional witnesses and obtain documents, the president ordered from the power of his office to note executive branch participate and obstructed the congressional oversight. Article 1 provides the house of representatives with the sole power of impeachment. As well as the authority to conduct oversight of the executive branch. What did very to hide . When the framers met over 200 years ago, they went to great length to ensure future president s would be forced to answer to their constitutional responsibility. I stand today in support of the two articles of impeachment. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield two minutes to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Cline, a member of the judiciary. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Cline thank you, madam speaker. Today is a sad day for this body, for the voters who sent me here last november, and for our nation. Benjamin franklin cautioned when asked what he had given us, a republic, if you can keep it. Today we take a step further toward losing the republic that our Founding Fathers envisioned by engaging in activity that they specifically warned against. The misuse of the constitutional power of impeachment for one partys political gain. Our constitution is the very foundation of our republican republic. Its assurance of selfdetermination has been the shining beacon by which our nation has chartered its course over the last two centuries from a new democratic experiment, struggling to survive, to the greatest nation on earth, america has been powered over the years not by government, but by the ingenuity, the bravery and the faith of its people. Confident in their place as one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And so it is we the people who determine our president , not we the Judiciary Committee. Nor we the congress. The constitution is clear, its only when we see clear proof of the impeachable offenses outlined in article 2, section 4, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, that we are to challenge the decision of the voters, break the figurative glass and pull the emergency rip cord that is impeachment. We do not have that proof today. Thomas jefferson said, i know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of society but the people themselves and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them. But to inform their discretion by education. But rather than educate this majority has chosen today to ove few skate with speculation. And when obfuscate. And when history looks at this house, it will judge it for what it truly is. A blatantly political process designed to finally achieve what they could not achieve at the ballot box, the removal of a duly elected president. Compelled by my sworn duty to uphold this constitution and for the people, i vote no on impeachment today. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Huffman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Huffman madam speaker, as we take this solemn, necessary step of impeaching President Trump, my republican colleagues have made up their minds. We cant persuade them to do the right thing. So ill address my remarks to the future. Todays vote will be judged by future generations, including my precious children, abby and nathan, maybe grandkids. Historians will study what members of this congress did when our democracy was tested like never before. By a president who put personal interests above country, who compromised National Security to cheat his way to reelection, and when caught, not only lied and refused to admit wrongdoing, but flouted congress authority. He even called the constitutional impeachment mechanism unconstitutional. Historians will marvel how some members of congress continued to stand by this man, how they put blind partisan loyalty or fear of donald trump above their duty to defend the constitution. How they made absurd partisan arguments and tried to obstruct these proceedings and how instead of pushing back when their party fell under the dark spell of authoritarianism, they embraced it as if the constitution, the rule of law, and our oath of office mean nothing. So, madam speaker, for our future generations, our children, the judgment of history, let me be clear i stand with our constitution, with the rule of law, and our democracy. Ill be voting yes to impeach donald j. Trump. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. I thank the gentleman for yielding me time. Todays vote to impeach the duly elected president of the United States is truly historical. However, its unique place in history is not for the reasons the Democratic Party and their Mainstream Media overlords are so desperately trying to convey. Today we will be remembered as the day that the democrats, claiming a false moral supremacy, over the desire of the American People, executed a deliberate and orchestrated plan to overturn a president ial election. It will be the first time in history that a party paraded out their Ivy League Academics to explain to 31 states and almost 63 Million People that their voice should not be heard and why their votes should be counted. Mr. Williams i pray for our nation every day. But today im praying for my colleagues across the aisle. Who arrived at this partisan and selfdirected fork in the road and chose the road never before traveled and one that has a dead end. Donald j. Trump is our president. Chosen by the American People. Fair and square. As we say in texas, its a done deal. Democrats attempt democratics attempt to change history will never undo that. May god bless the greatest country in the world, the United States of america. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. Mr. Collins reserve. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i would remind the gentleman that the impeachment clauses placed in the constitution to protect the American People and our form of government against a president who would subvert our constitutional liberties in between elections. I now yield one 911 the distinguished gentleman from texas one minute to the distinguished gentleman from texas, mr. Green. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Green and still i rise, madam speaker. I rise because i love my country and, madam speaker, shall any man be beyond justice, this is he question posed in 1787 by george mason at the constitutional convention. Shall any man be beyond justice . Madam speaker, if this president is allowed to thwart the efforts of congress with a legitimate impeachment inquiry, the president will not only be above the law, he will be beyond justice. We cannot allow any person to be beyond justice in this country. In the name of democracy, on behalf of the republican, and for the sake of the many who are suffering, i will vote to impeach and i encourage my colleagues to do so as well. No one is beyond justice in this country. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. Id also remind my chairman that the impeachment was not to be used in the between election cycles to defeat a president , sitting president , who you think will be reelected. With that, i yield one minute to the gentleman from florida, mr. Buchanan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Bukebuke thank you, madam speaker bukebuke thank you, madam speaker mr. Buchanan thank you, madam speaker. I will vote today against both articles of impeachment because we are without merit, setting a dangerous precedent for our country. This political vendetta is an abuse of the impeachment process and would subvert the votes of 63 million americans. Just because the president s opponents are afraid that hell win reelection is no excuse for weaponizing impeachment. No president in history has ever been impeached 10 months before an election. Elections are the heart of our democracy, our Founding Fathers deviced a simple way to remove a president if you disdegree with him. Its called disagree with him. Its called an election. And we have one coming up in less than a year. Lets let the people december this next november. And i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back the balance of his time. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from michigan, ms. Tlaib. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. I rise in support of impeachment. I learn so much from my residents at home. Their common sense and understanding what is right and what is wrong is why they oppose any person using the most powerful position in the orld for gain. We serve the people of the United States and uphold the constitution, not as republicans or democrats but as americans. Talib we should learn doing nothing here, madam speaker, is not an option. Looking away from these crimes against our country is not an option. This is about protecting the future of our nation and our democracy from corruption, abuse of power, criminal coverup, and bribery. And this, madam speaker, this vote is also for my sons in the future. Of so many generations. So i urge my colleagues to please, vote yes on these articles of impeachment. With that, madam speaker, i yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Joyce. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Joyce i rise on this dark day in the United States house of representatives to voice my opposition to the shameful impeachment process that has occurred in the peoples house. Some of my colleagues on the other side of the aisle do not like President Trump. We know this because they proudly boasted about their intention to impeach our president before he was even sworn into office. Out of disdain for the president and for those of us who elected him, the house of representatives is considering two articles of impeachment that are so very weak that they even fail to include specific crimes. The people that i represent in South Central and southwestern pennsylvania know the truth. The American People know the truth. This impeachment circus has never been about the facts. This process has always been about seeking revenge for the president s election in 2016 and attempting to prevent him from winning again in 2020. Madam speaker, i wholeheartedly oppose this partisan and shameful effort to impeach our democratically and duly elected president. For the sake of our nation, i urge my colleagues to join with me and vote no on the articles of impeachment. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, all we keep hearing from the other side are attacks on the process and questions of our motives. We do not hear because we cannot hear because they cannot articulate a real defense of the president s actions. I now yield one minute to the gentlelady from massachusetts, ms. Pressley. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Pressley madam speaker, i rise today to protect our democracy. Today, we take a stand against corruption and abuses of power. What we are doing here today is not only patriotic, it is uniquely american. America is a story of ordinary people confronting abuses of power with the steadfast pursuit of justice. Throughout our history, the oppressed have been relegated to the margins by the powerful, and each time we have fought back. Deliberate in our approach, cleareyed. Each generation has fought for the preservation of our democracy, and that is what brings us to the house floor today. Efficient and effective in the pursuit of our truth. Congress has done its due diligence. Today, we send a clear message, we are not tolerate abuses of power from the president of the United States of america. The future of this nation rests in our hands. It is with a heavy heart but a resolved one, and because i believe our democracy is worth fighting for, i will vote to impeach donald j. Trump, and i urge my colleagues to do the same. The speaker pro tempore the gentlewoman yields back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. You know, again, my chairman, again, i think hears us. He doesnt want to acknowledge it. When you have nothing but a process that was completely amuck, you talk about the process. Lets do it one more time. No pressure by either mr. Trump and mr. Zelensky. What horrifies me is the continuation to say that mr. Zelensky, who is the supposed victim here, who said many times there was no pressure. The majority of democrats are calling him a liar or weakening him in his own country. Has no conditionality in the transcript or after that. Five meetings prove that. All high level meetings. No conditionality. Two of those meetings were when the ukrainian knew their aid was being held. After, there was nothing done to get the money, guess what they got the money. Thats the fact. Thats what they dont want to deal with. Thats where were at today. So lets continue to see how the sham was perpetrated. Thats what many of our members are talking about. With that i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from michigan, mr. Bergman. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Bergman thank you, madam speaker. I rise today in opposition to the articles of impeachment against President Trump. I believe all the American People need to be looked in the eye by all their representatives. Today is the culmination of the democrats three yearlong quest to delegitimize the president. This was promised in 2016. It was all promised when the democrats took majority. This sham process began without a formal vote in the house and continued over these past several months willfully trampling on decades of bipartisan precedent. No due process, closed door depositions even though nothing in the investigation was classified and leaking only details that fit their narrative. If this isnt partisan politics, i dont know what is. Holding our elected officials accountable is a job i take extremely seriously. But the Impeachment Votes today represent the worst of washington, d. C. Yet, another reason my constituents are so disillusioned with the process and disappointed by the 116th congress. Michigans First District sent me to washington to get things done, to get government off their backs and help rural michiganners and others across the country keep more of their hardearned currency. Not impeach our duly elected president. With that i urge my colleagues to support against the articles of impeachment. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentlelady from california, ms. Barragan. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Barragan madam speaker, it is with a solemn sense of duty that i rise today in support of impeachment. As this Chamber Debates two articles of impeachment against the president for his abuse of power and obstruction of congress, i want history to know that i stood up to say that i stand for the constitution and our democracy. When my immigrant mom became a United States citizen, she took an oath and allegiance to our country and constitution. When i stood on this floor as a new member of congress, i took an oath to uphold and defend our constitution. The president abused his power when he uses official office and power to ask Foreign Government to interfere in our elections. When he asked a Foreign Government for a personal favor to dig up dirt on his political opponent so he could cheat. The president got caught and then he tried to cover it up. Today, we say no more. Today, we say we will not allow this president to abuse his power and endanger our National Security. I stand to say, no one is above the law. Not even this president. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Perry. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Perry since before inauguration the press and members of this congress have been for impeachment. Members refuse to attend the inauguration. They called for impeachment. They voted for impeachment. Without any evidence, they voted for impeachment, creating and manufacturing evidence. Recall and votes of no confidence are not included in our constitution for a reason. Our system demands evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors. If such evidence existed, there would be agreement in this chamber, but there is not. There is not an agreement because there is no evidence. Madison and hamilton warned us this might happen, that impeachment would veer toward political factions and thats exactly what this is. This is bitterly and nakedly partisan. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made a mockery of this process and this government. They despies the president and are themselves a despice the president and are themselves abusing their power. Madam speaker, they hope if they repeat them over and over you will believe their charges. Repeating things that arent true doesnt make them true. The call record between the two president s are clear. President trump was interested in getting to the bottom of what happened in the 2016 election. He asked the ukrainians to work with our attorney general. The ukrainians were already getting the military hardware and they got the aid they desired. These are not high crimes. These are disagreements over foreign aid. My colleagues are not driven by a quest of facts or truth. They are driven by their partisan, animus, and a timetable. These are the reckless and irresponsible act of elitists in the swamp and they underline the fabric of our republic. I urge a no vote and i yield. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i would remind the gentleman that there is in fact extensive direct evidence, including the president s own words and actions, which is corroborated and supported by indirect and circumstantial evidence. The record leaves the following key facts indisputable. President trumps own attorney, rudy giuliani, pushed ukraine to investigate joe biden and a debunked Conspiracy Theory about the 2016 elections. President trump directed u. S. Officials and president zelensky himself to work with mr. Giuliani to fulfill its demands. President trump withheld Critical Military aid for ukraine. And President Trump stonewalled Congress Investigation to coverup his misconduct. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Casten. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Casten madam speaker, this should not be a partisan vote. This is a vote about america. Its a vote about our democracy and our oath to the constitution. We all took an oath to protect the constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. We all know that its wrong to withhold foreign aid for a political favor. We all know its wrong to ignore congressional subpoenas. And we know its wrong to default to silly partisan process arguments rather than to rise and defend this beautiful but alltoofragile democracy. And when those abuse those powers for personal advantage, its for us to uphold the responsibility the founders bestowed upon us. I remind you the great words of lincoln. When one party would inflame partisanship rather than let the nation survive, i am proud to be the party to accept partisanship rather than accept the nation perish. This moment the message is clear, we must impeach. Dont vote your party, vote your character. Thats how youre going to be judged and thats how we are all going to be judged. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i ask for a time check. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia has an hour and an hour and 44 1 2 minutes. The gentleman from new york has an hour and 47 1 2 minutes. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from colorado, mr. Tipton. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Tipton madam speaker, i rise in strong opposition to this partisan impeachment process. Make no mistake, this process does not begin with a whistleblower report. In fact, impeachment efforts began shortly after the president was elected. The theatrics, political posturing have ensured that this body is not actually pursuing to preserve checks and balances. Rather, this process echos the calls by some that refuse to accept the 2016 Election Results. Neither of the articles receiving a vote just by the removal of the president from office. The first articles suggests that the president pressured a Foreign Government to be able to assist in an upcoming election. Ukraine received its aid without a prearranged agreement. This is unsubstantiated. Second article is premised on the obstruction occurred when the white house ignored subpoenas issued by the house. Our federal courts are the ultimate arbiters of these decisions. In fact, the previous administrations republican and democrat both have dealt with these issues and claimed executive privilege. Mr. Speaker madam speaker, the articles that are before this house are unsubstantiated. I intend to vote no on these articles and i would encourage my colleagues to be able to do the same. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from arizona, mr. Gallego. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Gallego madam speaker, today i will vote to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of congress. Those still defending the president s actions are desperately grasping at stause while living in an alternative universe where facts dont exist. To those still unwilling to search their souls ask yourselves would you support a democratic president using taxpayer dollars to pressure a Foreign Government to investigate a republican political opponent based on false russian conspiracy theories . Of course not. Thats absurd. Any president who does that has abused the power of the presidency for personal gain and undermine our most sacred tradition, our elections. In a few hours, every member will make a choice. Will you fall into the ageold political trap of thinking blind partisanship is all that matters or will you vote to defend the constitution and our democracy so that President Trump and every future president will know they are not above the law and will be held accountable for their actions . I have made my choice. I hope every member puts the defense of our nation first and joins me. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I need to yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from nebraska, mr. Smith. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Smith madam speaker, i rise today to speak out against this attempt to remove the duly elected president of the United States. Impeachment is importantly established in our constitution. The impeachment of a president has overwhelm happened twice inure countrys 243 year histry. Yet today for highly political purposes the House Majority is trying to remove President Trump from office based on secondhand indirect accounts. The articles of impeachment we are voting on today offer no evidence of a crime, but instead are purposely broad to fit the majoritys narrative. Less than one year until the next president ial election, we are being asked to override the choice of the American People. This lobsided and hyper partisan biased impeachment process has had has been prefermed as an outcome from the very beginning. Predetermined as an outcome from the very beginning. This is an unfortunate day in in history in our great country. Surely there will be disagreements between the president and congress for many years to come. Instead of unnecessarily dividing our contry, as we are seeing today, we should be looking at ways to bring our country together. Thank you. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, President Trumps actions are both impeachable and criminal. Although the violation of the federal criminal statute is neither necessary more sufficient to justify impeachment, President Trumps conduct violated the federal antibribery statute very clearly. Madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from virginia, mr. Beyer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Beyer i thank the chairman. Madam speaker, today i will vote to impeach donald trump for abuse of power an obstruction of congress. I dont hate the president. But i love my country and i have no other choice. These articles of impeachment is the only moral course of action, the only way to honor our oath of office. I have no doubt the votes i cast today will stand the test of time this. Has nothing to do with the 2016 elections. Im so disappointed in my republican friends approve of the president s abuses of power and solicitation of foreign interference in our elections. This is the very definition of the willful suspension of disbelief. They know in their heart what the president has done is deeply wropping. They know they would vote without hesitation to impeach a democratic president who has done these things. I remind all americans the president did not rebut the facts, many facts, which led to articles of impeachment today. For the sake of our democracy, our constitution, and our country, we must dot right thing and vote to impeach President Trump. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I was amazed by what the chairman said. If he violated the robbery statute, why didnt we add it as arenticle of impeachment, the reason why . He it didnt. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Thank you, maam article 2, section 4 the United States constitution states that the president of the United States may be removed from office for treason, bribery, high crimes, and misdemeanors. As a former prosecutor i am confident that no court would accept these articles of impeachment as having met the standards set forth by our Founding Fathers. The impeachment articles rely almost exclusively on hearsay and opinion testimony and they present no direct evidence of wrongdoing. Mr. Guest as a former District Attorney i am dismayed that the democrats have submitted articles of impeachment against a sitting president using circumstantial evidence that fails to offer proof of an impeachable offense. Additionally, the charges levied against the president antarcticles of impeachment lack historical precedent and motivated by pure political reason. If the house of representatives passes the articles of impeachment, the democrats will have set a dangerous precedent by undoing americas vote for president because a single party disagreed with the 2016 president ial Election Results. I urge my colleagues to vote no on the articles of impeachment and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from california, mr. Thompson. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson madam speaker, i find no pleasure coming to the floor today to consider impeachment. I ran for congress to represent my community and to serve the country i love. As a combat veteran and having served eight years on the intelligence committee, i understand the threat that foreign actors can play in our elections. Every elected official must dedicate themselves to protecting our democracy. No one should invite a foreign country to interfere with our most sacred act of voting. It was abuse of power by the president to ask a foreign nation to interfere in our election to benefit his personal and political interest and to condition bipartisan congressionally approved aid on that interference. Unchecked these actions could lead us down a path that will unravel thethe fabric of our nation. I am saddened we are here today. In the interest of defending our nation, i will vote for the articles of impeachment. I yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. At this time i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from texas, mr. Roy. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Roy i thank the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Speaker, our founders intentionally did not embrace recalls or votes of no confidence. We demand of Congress High crimes and misdemeanors. While my colleagues are free to dislike the president e. , and view the phone call as something less than perfect, they are not free to impeach something less than a high crime and misdemeanor. In just over 10 months the people are free to decide and we should let them. The eyes of the world are upon us, madam speaker. The press galleries are full. Our floor full of members. When will we give the world give the world Something Better than this. My colleagues talk about the constitution they found under mothballs. Wheres respect for the constitution when peoples house daily refuse to do its actual job while shredding federalism. Today in mexico a young girl will be abused while being trafficked toward our open corders. While some here yell kids in cages. Today new york a young mother will be coursed into abortion by taxpayer funded planned parenthood, while we allow the genocide of the unborn in the false name of choice. Today across america diabetics will afford to insulin due to our Health Care System ravaged by government and insurance bureaucrats empowered in the false name of coverage. Today our children inherit 100 million of debt an hour borrowed in the false name of what government can provide. In this conduct by congress, failing to do its jobs, that should be impeached. One might ask if america would be better off taking the first 435 names out of the phone book to represent us in the United States house than what is on display here today. Today is not a dark day because the American People know this. America is great. Washington is broken. And we are taking our country back. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentlelady from california, ms. Matsui. The speaker pro tempore the gentlelady is recognized for one minute. Ms. Matsui madam speaker, i rise today with a heavy heart. I came to congress to serve the great people of sacramento and to build am bert future for our children and grandchildren, including my grandkids. The facts before us are crystal clear. We heard testimony from 17 brave patriots who value our democracy and the constitution. They testified that President Trump threatened to withhold congressionally approved money in exchange for dirt on the political rival and worse. It continues to invite foreign powers to violate our sovereignty even today. On its face these are impeachable offenses that represent a clear and present danger to our country. Thats why the only answer is to act now. We need to stand together and stop President Trump immediately so that he cannot violate the next election. For the sake of our country and our democracy, i will vote yes to impeach the president. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from pennsylvania, mr. Smucker. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Smucker thank you. Madam speaker, i rise today to ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle, how much is the trust of the American People worth . When the American People are dissatisfied with their government, the primary tool that the constitution gives them to make a change is their vote. And on november 8, 2016, americans from every part of this nation packed the polls to elect donald j. Trump to be the president of the United States. The country wanted a disrupter, a fire, a deal maker, a president that would put america first. But sadly on that very same day democrats had no plan or interest in honoring the vote of the American People. They were going to attempt from day one to delegitimatize this president and ultimately remove him from office. Right after the president was sworn in, the Washington Post wrote, the campaign to impeach President Trump has begun. Even before he took office a politico article headline read, could trump be impeached shortly after he takes office . So, House Democrats have been planning for this day since january, 2017. Its clear that facts have never mattered to the House Democrats. They never planned to work with the president. Instead they intended only to fulfill their divisive partisan agenda. Again i ask, how much is the trust of the American People worth . Because after the vote today, for what you think is a shortterm partisan gain, you can be sure that the American People will have lost their trust in our institution. They will have lost their trust in congress and most importantly lost trust their vote counts. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler i yield one minute to the gentleman from california, mr. Garamendi. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Garamendi thank you, madam speaker. Impeaching a president is one of the most solemn and consequential decisions the United States congress can make. Its not an action that i or my fell house colleagues take lightly. Fellow house colleagues take lightly. Investigations and hearings conducted by the house proved overwhelming evidence that President Trump abused his power and endangered our National Security. President trump also issued a blanket order prohibiting all executive Office Personnel from testifying, responding to subpoenas, or turning over documents. Therefore he has obstructed the legitimate, constitutional obligation of congress. The president s actions leave me no choice. President trump violated his oath of office. Now i will uphold my oath of office to preserve and protect our constitution. And my promise to my constituents to carefully analyze all issues before me. I will vote in favor of both articles of impeachment against president donald john trump. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins thank you, madam speaker. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from florida, mr. Dunn. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Dunn i stand before you today a disappointed man. I am disappointed in a broken and partisan process that has consumed the House Democrats. We were told this investigation was going to be bipartisan and transparent. Instead the proceedings were held in secret behind closed doors with no attempt at a fair hearing. All this was done deliberately in an effort to undo the results of the 2016 election. Madam speaker, my constituents in florida want to see us get to work. They want us, they are counting on us to actually fix the surprise medical billing, lower the cost of prescription drugs. Instead we are here a week before christmas voting to impeach the legitimate president , donald j. Trump, on the strength of nothing but rumors. We have wasted almost a year on this process while House Democrats chose political theater over serving the American People. This shameful vote to impeach our president will be a lasting stain on our house. And i urge all of my colleagues to vote no. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from oregon, mr. Defazio. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. The fazio i thank gentleman. Its clearcut. The president of the United States has violated his oath of office and betrayed the constitution and the American People. He admitted to soliciting assistance from foreign leader, to interfere in the u. S. Election and aid his political reelection campaign. Thats a violation of the law. Violation of the constitution, and a betrayal of the American People and an impeachable offense. Overwhelming evidence also demonstrates the president withheld congressionally approved taxpayer dollars to blackmail the young, new president of ukraine under attack from russia. Now the gentleman from georgia says ukraine didnt feel any pressure. They are being invaded by russia. Vladimir putin, trumps friend, and he withheld that aid until the whistleblower report came out. Then the aid was released. It wasnt released for any good purpose. Congress voted for that aid, the president signed the bill that. Is another impeachable offense. And the Judiciary Committee has put together an extensive document which shows that there is evidence of numerous other federal crimes, including bribery and wire fraud. The president s actions threaten the continuation of our representative democracy. Im proudly voting for impeachment today. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from georgia. Mr. Collins i am glad to know mr. Trump was giving them lethal aid, something to fight back with not what was previously given to them. There was again from the president himself no pressure put on him. If your whole says if you are coercing somebody if there was no pressure. We dont seem to get that part on this floor debate today. I yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from montana. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for a minute and a half. Mr. Gianforte today this chamber is pushing through the pose partisan baseless articles of impeachment in our history. Its been a sham since day one. Driven by those whose bitter range against President Trump blind their better judgment. Earlier this year, Speaker Pelosi said, impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless theres something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan, i dont think we should go down that path. None of those standards have been met. None. The Committee Hearings were a scripted, substancefree, madefortv show. They would be comedy if impeachment werent so serious and grave. Witnesses denied awareness of an impeachable offense, and because the majority has failed to make the case for impeachment, there is no bipartisanship. Compelling, overwhelming, peleds has peaker not met her own pelosi has not met her own criteria for impeaching. The American People have rejected this. I will vote against this bipartisan partisan impeachment sham. On this sad day of an impeachment charade, i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from texas, mr. Gonzalez. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker, i rise on a sad day for america, a sad day for texas, and a very sad day for the people i represent. I am not gleeful today. I came to fight for rescription drugs, make sure everyone was ok. I did not come to congress to impeach a sitting president bus hes given us no choice. He used the office of the presidency for personal and political gain. Our Founding Fathers feared one day the power of the presidency would stretch beyond its limits. Thus, they enshrined in the constitution a system of checks and balances. We cannot and will not lower the ethical standards of our presidency. We cannot afford to wither like a cheap flower in bad weather, watching our democracy crumbling and rot from within. That is not america the world knows and love, and this is not something we want our future generations to inherit. Thats why today i must vote to impeach the president of the United States and fulfill my oath to the constitution, and i yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from north dakota. Mr. Armstrong i yield to mr. Hurd. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Hurd we have not heard evidence beyond a reasonable doubt of bribery or extortion. Allegations of these two crimes arent even mentioned in the articles of impeachment being debated today. But today, we have seen a rushed process divide our country. Today, accusations have been hurled at each other, questioning one anothers integrity. Today, a dangerous precedent will be set. Impeachment becoming a weaponized political tool. We know how this partisan process will end this evening, but what happens tomorrow . Can this chamber put down our swords and get back to work for the American People . This institution has a fabled history of changing legislation that has not only chaunged our country but has inspired the world. This feat has been possible because this experiment we call america has one perpetual goal, make a more perfect union. We can contribute to this history if we recognize the simple fact that way more unites our country than divides us. Tomorrow, can we start focusing on that . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from illinois, mr. Davis. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Davis thank you, madam speaker. This is indeed a sad day for our country. This is indeed a sad day for america. But its a good day for our constitution. It is a sad day for our country because President Trump has defied our constitution, our rules, our requirements, and our expectations. It is clear that President Trump places himself above the law, above our constitution, and above the expectations of the American People. At my last town hall meeting, which was held saturday, december 15, at Malcolm X College in chicago, someone asked the question what is our position on impeachment . Madam speaker, every person there rose and said impeach. When i speak, i speak for the people of the seventh district of illinois, and my vote will be impeach, impeach, impeach. And i yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from north dakota. Mr. Armstrong madam speaker, i yield two minutes to my friend from texas, mr. Gohmert. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for two minutes. Mr. Gohmert thank you. In 1998, senator schumer said, and i quote, this impeachment will be used as a routine tool to fight political battles. We thought it was a prediction. It was a promise, and now its playing out. Its exactly whats being done here. And for those that say we dont defend the fact, here you go. The impeachment serves two purposes. Number one, stop the investigation by the u. S. Department of justice and ukraine into the corruption of ukraines interference into the u. S. Election in 2016. You said this was about oh, this terrible russia collusion. Oh, that fell through. It was about emoluments. It was about bribery, it was about extortion. One thing that hasnt changed which is the intention to impeach this president. Its always been there. But lets be honest. The president , turning his back on ukraine, that happened in 2009, because in 2008, ukraine invaded georgia. What happened . Bush put sanctions on russia to teach them a lesson. What happened after that . Well in march, 2009, Hillary Clinton was sent over to russia with a reset button to say, bush overreacted. Were ok that you invaded georgia. It was a green light to russia to invade ukraine. And what do you do . Oh, yeah, you send blankets and m. R. E. s. They can be eat and warm while the russians are killing them. That is what the Obama Administration did. This is a travesty, and were in big trouble, because schumer was right. Now its lowered the bar. It will be used for political battles, and this countrys end is now in sight. I hope i dont live to see it. This is an outrage. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i am deeply concerned that any member of the house would spout russian propaganda on the floor of the house. I now yield one minute to the gentleman from new york, mr. Higgins. Mr. Gohmert if the gentleman will yield . The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york is recognized. Mr. Gohmert if the gentleman will yield . The speaker pro tempore the ouse will come toured. Mr. Gohmert russia propaganda the speaker pro tempore the house will come to order. The house will come to order. The gentleman from new york is recognized for one minute. Mr. Nadler mr. Higgins thank you, madam speaker. The United States constitution is explicit. Bribery is an impeachable offense. Bribery involves the abuse of power. And the president of the United States abused the power of his office by soliciting a bribe of a foreign leader to interfere in an election he was afraid he could not win honorably, fairly, or freely. U, president of ukraine, opened president of the United States will release 391 million in military aid and give you the stature amplifying white house meeting that you need. This is a this is a this for that, something for something transaction. Soliciting a bribe from a foreign leader is an abuse of power and a federal crime. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from north dakota. Mr. Armstrong madam speaker, i yield 1 1 2 minutes to the gentleman from florida, mr. Bilirakis. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Bilirakis thank you, madam speaker. I want to thank my republican colleagues who have toiled honorably in defense of the constitution, rule of law, under difficult circumstances, madam speaker. You know, madam speaker, its a darn shame that we have found ourselves in this position today. Every time i step into this chamber, im humbled to be serving in the greatest legislative body in the history of the world. However, its deeply disappointing that the hyperpartisanship that has gripped this country has made its way into this chamber. I pride myself on being a consensus builder who works across the aisle who gets things done for the American People, but when it comes to the matter of impeachment, i have no doubt that the entire process has been politically motivated. There is absolutely no evidence that President Trump committed an impeachable offense, which is why i will vote no. This whole process has been a ploy to circumvent the will of the people by removing a duly elected president of the United States. Its a National Disgrace that sets a dangerous precedent. But we are a great nation. We will survive this indignity. Lets put this ugly chapter behind us, madam speaker, and get to work. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from mississippi, mr. Thompson. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Thompson thank you very much, madam speaker. Madam speaker, the question that will be answered today is, will members honor their oath to uphold the constitution . Democrats are not supporting impeachment based on a policy disagreement or the Election Results of 2016. No one is above the law. The president must be held accountable. A constitutional process is not hoax or a witchhunt. President trump just opposes it. No one is above the law. Not even president donald j. Trump. The president abused his power by pressuring ukraine to help his reelection campaign. Impeachment is a constitutional remedy for these actions. Trump betrayed his oath, betrayed the constitution, and undermined the integrity of our elections. Those who are against the impeachment inquiry are willing to turn a blind eye to constitutional violations by the president. As a nation, we have no other alternative. We must protect our constitution and the United States of america. In his own words, no intelligent person believes what he is saying. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentlemans time has expired. The gentleman from north dakota. Mr. Armstrong madam speaker, i yield 1 1 2 minutes to the gentleman from indiana, mr. Baird. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Madam speaker, the totality of this process is just another reminder that my colleagues across the aisle are more focused on politics than policy. The American People deserve better. Our republic deserves better. The brave member and women of our military the brave men and women of our military, myself included, have fought for freedom and democracy around the world. Yet, today, my colleagues are eroding those freedoms through a process that ignored facts, abused power, and was shrouded in secrecy. Those facts could not be more clear the president committed no crime, broke no laws, and there was no quid pro quo. I look forward to doing the right thing. Representing the hoosiers in my district and voting against this impeachment charade. I stand with President Trump and look forward to passing policies that continue to move our country forward. Ill yield back the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman yields back. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i now yield one minute to the gentleman from oregon, mr. Blumenauer. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Mr. Blumenauer thank you. Thanks to the hard work of our committees, the leadership of the speaker, we found overwhelming evidence trump invited foreign interests to interfere in our elections for his personal gain and he then took unprecedented efforts to cover it up, obstructing congress. Im proud of the courage of new members to do their duty so that for the first time in his privileged life donald trump will be finally held accountable for his reckless personal behavior and business practices. I vote proudly for these two articles of impeachment, and then i hope the house retains control of the articles until the speaker and leader schumer can negotiate agreement on process and witnesses from mcconnell so that the next stage will be open and fair so that donald trump will ultimately be held accountable. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from north dakota. Madam speaker, i yield 1 1 2 minutes to my friend from oklahoma, mr. Hern. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mr. Hern public hearings began november 13. Less than a month later, Speaker Pelosi announced articles of impeachment on december 5, saying that the investigation had revealed enough information to move forward with impeachment. Lets think about that. 22day investigation. Six of those days were weekends. Hearings werent happening and the house was not in session. Seven of those days were when the house was in recess. Two were flying days where congress doesnt hold hearings. Out of the 22 days, just seven days, seven days were used to investigate, debate, and vote on the impeachment of the duel elected leader of our con duly elected leader of our country. Seven days to impeach the president of the United States. Not to mention that the seven day investigation uncovered zero facts in support of impeachment. I spent ever minute i had in this as an observer and all i learned is if you hate someone so strongly and enough people agree with you, thats grounds enough to be impeached. We asked for 12 hours of debate. The same amount of time allotted to president clintons impeachment. 12 hours of debate for possibly the biggest vote i will cast in my tenure as representative. Isnt asking too much. But, no. They want to get out of here before christmas. So its ok to rush through the process. Im ashamed to be part of this today even as i vote against the impeachment. My constituents are calling every day, mad as hell, saying we should be ashamed this Historic Chamber has fallen so low to allow Something Like this to happen. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, my friend, the gentleman from georgia, has a tag line about the clock on the calendar. Madam speaker, this is not about the clock and the calendar. It is about corruption and the constitution. It is about a president who abused his power to coerce an ally to intervene in our election and poses a continuing threat to the integrity of our next election. The president s defense is built on three pillars. When those three pillars fall, the entire defense of the president collapses. First, they claim there was no quid pro quo. Well, the evidence is undisputed. President trump conditioned a white house visit and military aid on president zelenskys public announcement of the investigation. Ambassador William Taylor wrote at the time, quote, i think its crazy to withhold Security Assistance for help with a political campaign, close quote. A reporter asked white house chief of staff Mick Mulvaney if there had been a quid pro quo here. He replied, we do that all the time. Get over it. The president refused to help our ally until he got a personal political favor. So the First Defense falls. Second, the minority claims that the ukrainians didnt know about the hold. The evidence again is undisputed. Ukraine knew about the hold on the military assistance within hours of the president s july 25. 25 call. Laura cooper of the department of defense testified under oath and on july 25 the state department sent two emails to the department of defense notifying them that ukrainian officials were asking where is the aid . Ukrainians understood exactly what President Trump was asking. He wanted a personal political favor before the aid was released. So the second defense falls. Third and finally, my republican friend say the aid was released. But the aid was released only after the president got caught. This house launched its investigation on september 9. The hold on the aid was lifted on september 11. This is not evidence of incense. It is evidence of cull exabblet. Culpability. The evidence is overwhelming. When he got caught, he did everything in his power to prevent the American People from learning the truth about his actions by defying the congressional investigation, by ordering that all requests and demands for information be denied. With our National Security and the integrity of our election at risk, we must act. Not because of the clock on the calendar but to fight against corruption and for continued selfgovernance by the American People. I reserve the balance of my time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman from north dakota. Mr. Armstrong madam speaker, i would just point out that to believe everything that was just said you have to also believe that president zelensky is a pathological liar. With that i yield 1 1 2 minutes to my friend from south carolina, mr. Duncan. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized for 1 1 2 minutes. Mr. Duncan thank you, madam speaker. We are not debating impeachment of an american president today. Your minds are already made up. The democrat majority has had a verdict impeachment looking for a crime since the inauguration. The Washington Post ran the headline, the campaign to impeach President Trump has begun just 19 minutes after President Trump took the oath of office. 19 minutes. Freshman congresswoman from michigan told a group of supporters, we are going to impeach the mother blank shortly after she was sworn in. Even Speaker Pelosi admitted last week that the impeachment effort has been going on for 2 1 2 years long before any phone call between two world leaders. In fact, 71 of the democrats on the Judiciary Committee supported impeachment before the phone call. The impeachment sham is based on hearsay, conjecture, and opinion. You know what . You cant even get a speeding particular net this country based on hearsay, yet we are going to impeach an american president based on just that. Where are the crimes of teeson, high crimes, or misdemeanors committed here . Those are things that constitute impeachable offenses not hatred or policy disagreements. If memory serves me right, Congress Told the administration to withhold aid to ukraine until they got their act together. Address corruption. Straighten out that was in multiple ndaas voted on by both parties in this chamber. In the simplest terms we are impeaching the president for something we told him to do . We have wasted precious time we are given to soist American People. You held secret hearings and depositions behind closed doors in chairman schiffs chamber of secrets. But the American People have a great sense of fairness. I promise you. They see President Trump has not been treated fairly in this process. Impeachment based on hearsay and opinion not facts. Its a sad day in this chamber. The peoples house. I yield back. The speaker pro tempore members are again reminded to address their remarks to the chair. The gentleman from new york. Mr. Nadler madam speaker, i would now inform you that the gentleman from california, mr. Schiff, the chair of the intelligence committee, will now serve as my designee and will control the remainder of the time on the majority side. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman yield to the gentleman from california . Mr. Nadler hes my designee. The speaker pro tempore does the gentleman from california yield to himself . Mr. Schiff yes, i yield myself such time as i may consume. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Schiff i thank my colleague, chairman nadler. I thank him for the extraordinary job that he has done as chairman of the Judiciary Committee and throughout these difficult proceedings. Madam speaker, my colleagues, my fellow americans, i rise to support the impeachment of president donald j. Trump. When a man unprincipleled a private unprincipled in private life, desperate in his fortune, bold in his temper, possessed of considerable talents, having the advantage of military habits, despotic in his ordinary demeanor, known to have scoffed in private at the principles of liberty when, such a man is seen to mount the hobby horse of popularity to join in the cry of danger to liberty, to take every opportunity of embarrassing the government, the general government and bringing it under suspicion, to flatter and fall in with all the nonsense of the zealots of the day, it may justly be suspected his object is to throw things into confusion that he may ride the storm and direct the whirlwind. These are the words of Alexander Hamilton written in 1792. Could we find a more prescription of the present danger emanating from 1600 pennsylvania avenue. The framers crafted a constitution that contemplated free and Fair Elections for the highest office in the land. But also afforded the congress with the power to remove a president who abused the powers of his office for personal gain. Who compromised the public trust by betraying our nations security. Or who sought to undermine our democratic system by seeking foreign intervention in the conduct of our elections. I would say that the founders could have little imagined that a single president might have done all of these things except that the evidence has sadly proved this is exactly what this president has done. Hamilton, among others, seems to have predicted the rise of donald trump with a staggers preshence. Having won freedom from a king, the drafters of our constitution designed a government in which ambition was made to check ambition. In which no branch of government would predominate over another, and no man would be allowed to be above the law, including the president , especially the president , since with whom would the danger be greater than with the officer charged with being our commander in chief. Eefer the course of the last three months over the course of the last three months we have found incontrovertable evidence that President Trump abused his power by pressuring the newly elected president of ukraine to announce an investigation into President Trumps political rival, joe biden. With the hopes of defeating mr. Biden in the 2020 president ial election and enhancing his own prospects for reelection. He didnt even need the investigation to be undertaken. Just simply announce to the public. The smear of his opponent, to smear of his opponent would be enough. To effectuate this scheme, President Trump withheld two official acts of vital importance to a nation at war with our adversary, Vladimir Putins russia. The president withheld a white house meeting that ukraine desperately sought to bolster its standing on the world stage. Even more perniciously President Trump suspended hundreds of millions of dollars of military aid approved by this congress to coerce ukraine into doing his electoral dirty work. The president of the United States was willing to sacrifice our National Security by withholding support for a critical strategy part Strategic Partner at war in order to improve his reelection prospects. But for the courage of someone willing to blow the whistle, he would have gotten away with it. Instead, he got caught. He tried to cheat and he got caught. This wasnt the first time. As a candidate in 2016 donald trump invited russian interference in his president ial campaign, saying at a campaign rally, russia, if you are listening, i hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing. A clear invitation to hack Hillary Clintons emails. Just five hours later, russian government hackers tried to do exactly that. What followed was an immense russian hacking and dumping operation and social Media Disinformation Campaign designed to help elect donald trump. Not only did candidate trump welcome that effort, but he made full use of it. Building it into his campaign plan, his messaging strategy, and then he sought to cover it up. This russian effort to interfere in our elections didnt deter donald trump. It empowered him. The day after special counsel bob mueller testified before congress about russias sweeping and systemic effort to influence the outcome of our last election, the day after President Trump believed that the investigation into his first electoral misconduct had come to an end, the president was back on the phone urging yet another country, this time ukraine, to help him cheat in
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