House Majority Leader Kevin Mccarthy at his weekly News Conference. Sunday night on q a day and author on his book dignity, those living on the margins of society. I it was a sunday morning believe or saturday, it was empty because all the semis were gone. The intelligence just kind of came right through. We spoke for about half an hour or so. Life, which is almost like a cliche of everything wrong that could happen to somebody. Eventually i asked her what i how do you want me to describe you . Give me one sentence to describe you. It is what i am, a prostitute, a mother. Sunday night at eight eastern a. Spans q coming up shortly we will have your reaction to the house vote but first some of the floor speeches of the house debate. We will hear from doug collins, steve scalise, and House Intelligence Committee chair adam schiff. Mr. Collins madam speaker, a few weeks ago just off of this floor i said that dark cloud was deskending upon this body. Today because of the clock and the calendar it is closing. It is amazing to me what i just heard from the majority leader. That mr. Schiff and mr. Nadler presented a compelling case for impeachment. If this is a compelling case for impeachment, im not sure why we are here. Right now. It is not anywhere close to compelling. But you know what is interesting is what i have heard today. The majority leader just spoke and said that if the president was given every opportunity to come prove his incense innocence. I tell you what, madam speaker, let me have just a few minutes and let me go around to the press corps and everybody here and im going to accuse you of something. You did it. You did it. You did it. You did it. Now prove us wrong. You did it. Guess what . You dont want to because deep down you know that thats turning the entire jurisprudence of this country upsidedown. You are guilt are you not guilty until you are proven. You are innocent. Today from this floor we have heard the majority leader say this president is guilty and not the other way around. He is innocent and these come nowhere close to proving t but what is left of this body . Lets have an honest conversation, madam speaker, what we have found over the past few weeks is that it is ok for the majority to tear down a foreign leader because they cant make their case. They called him a liar, a weak, or worse, or called in the committee, even looked like a battered wife. It is below the dignity of this body and this majority to tear down a foreign leader because they cant make their case gainst this one. We have broken rules in this house, even to this moment, chairman schiff and the others have broken House Resolution 660 by not turning over the things that they should be turning over. I still have not got a transcript. We still dont know what got in the white house. Still has not got their stuff. I guess those dont matter, either. You see there is a problem here because we are going to vote this tonight while breaking the rules. What a shameful incident. But we also found a creative interpretation of minority rights. We saw the rise of the partisanship because of things that have been done further. We have seen members smeared in reports by drive by political hacks when they match numbers of the Ranking Member and the members of the press. That ought to concern every one of you as much as it concerns every one of us. Nothing but a drive by hit. You know something, this majority leader also said, wherever law ends tyranny begins. I will say this, in this house wherever the rules are disregarded, chaos and mob rule actually began and the majority has taken that to a new level. It has been said today wheres bravey. Ill tell you where bravey is found and courage is found, its found in this minority who has lived through the last year of nothing but rules being broken, people being put down, questions not being answered, and this majority saying be dammed with anything else we are going to be to impeach and do what we want to do. Why . Because we won an election. I guarantee you one day youll be back in the minority and it aint going to be that fun. When you look at it, when you actually trash the rules of this house, you want to really look at what did you gain at the end by trashing the institution you claim to love. Thats the things we found out so far. But you know they are careful saying you want to deal in process. As i said last night in the rules committee where they didnt want to listen, i win on process and i will win on facts because we have the truth on our side. Let me remind you that hearings what the process actually says. There was no pressure. Look at the call. President zelensky, President Trump, no pressure. There was no conditionality. There was nothing done to get the aid. And the aid came. There were five meetings. When you look at it right now, none of which matter because right now the dark cloud is descending upon this house and im fearful, madam speaker, when i look out in that abyss, i dont know what i see. Ill tell you what i do see. I see coming off a president who will put his head down through this sham impeachment and he will do his job. He will put the American People first. He will tell them that i care about you. He will still put the economy first. And he will make sure this country stands strong. Thats what i see in thi the speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Mccarthy madam speaker, i must warn you, im about to Say Something my democratic colleagues hate to hear. Donald j. Trump is president of the United States. He is president today. Hell be president tomorrow. And he will be president when his impeachment is over. Madam speaker, when they accept that, maybe this house can get back to work for the American People. Tonight i rise not as the leader of the opposition to this impeachment, or as the elected representative from the Central Valley of california. I rise as kevin mccarthy, citizen. 435etter, no worse than the representatives that are in this chamber. Or the 330 million americans watching this institution make what i believe is to be one of the worst decisions we have ever made. It doesnt matter whether youre a democrat or a republican, whether youre liberal or conservative, whether youre the first generation or the 10th, at our core we are all americans. All of us. We choose our future. We choose what kind of nation we want to be. Heres our choice tonight. Will we let impeachment become an exercise of raw political power, regardless if it damages our country . Or will we protect the proper grounds and process for impeachment now and in the future . For months democrats and many in the media have attempted to normalize the impeachment process that would remove a duly elected president from office. After three years of breathless nd baseless outrage, this is their last attempt to stop the trump presidency. Madam speaker, Speaker Pelosi even recently admitted that democrats have been working on this impeachment for 2 1 2 years. Those were her words, they were not mine. Because they lost to him in 2016 , theyll do anything or say anything to stop him in 2020. Thats not america. Thats not how democratic republics behave. Elections matter. Voters matter. And in 11 months, the peoples voice will be heard again. Impeachment is the most consequential decision congress can make other than sending our men and women into war. Yet 85 days ago, Speaker Pelosi chose to impeach the president of the United States. She wrote the script and created an artificial timeline to make the details fit. Why else are we doing this just hours before christmas . If thats all it was, a rush to judgment, she could be forgiven. But before the speaker saw one word or one shred of evidence, he moved to impeach. In the path, in this body, such a step demanded a vote from all of us from the start. But not only did she move to impeach before she gave this house and the hundreds of millions of people we represent a say in whether to pursue an impeachment inquiry, she threw out the bipartisan standards this house gave president nixon and clinton. That is why i immediately sent Speaker Pelosi a letter, asking her to follow the rules of history, of tradition, and follow those standards that have served america well. What did she say . She rejected it. She rejected it because democrats knew a fair process would crumble their case. A fair process would have exposed to the American Public what many already knew. Democrats have wanted to impeach President Trump since the day he was elected. And nothing was going to get in their way, certainly not the truth. Madam speaker, chairman schiff said he had evidence, more than circle, of collusion. That was false. In january, where we all stood in this body, we stood up, we raised our hands, we swore that uphold the constitution and a few mere hours after that, congresswoman tlaib said she was oing to impeach the motherf er. Ose are not my words a year before taking the majority chairman nadler campaigned to the democrats that he wanted to be chairman of the Judiciary Committee where impeachment is. New york times writes, madam speaker, because he is the strongest member to lead a potential impeachment. And congressman raskin, a leading democrat on the Judiciary Committee, one that the democrats had represent in the rules committee, for these articles just yesterday, told a crowd he would impeach President Trump two days before he was ever sworn into office. What weve seen is a rigged process that has led to the most partisan and least credible impeachment in the history of america. That is this legacy. Any prosecutor in this country would be disbarred for such blatant bias, especially if that prosecutor was the fact witness, he judge and the jury. Madam speaker, democrats havent just failed on process, theyve also failed failed on evidence. I heard a lot of debate on this floor today, but i havent heard one member of this body dispute this simple fact President Trump provided lethal aid to ukraine. It came before the call, it came after the call, and it continues to this day. President trump provided ukraine tankbusting bombs, the previous administration, they gave blankets. This is the truth. Meanwhile, the democrats case is based on secondhand opinions and hearsay. Simply put, there are no grounds for impeachment. As constitutional scholar jonathan turley, and i would challenge to say hes probably the most respected and we all know it, a democrat who did not vote for the president said under oath, there was no bribery, there was no extortion, no obstruction of justice and no abuse of power. Based on the facts, based on the truth, based on the lack of evidence turley called in the fastest, thinnest and weakest impeachment in the u. S. History. Such a definitive answer should be the end of all of this. But Speaker Pelosi is still moving forward with this impeachment. Without evidence of facts or truth or public support. The speaker says it is out of allegiance to our founders. On this i agree. I agree with the speaker, we should listen to the founders. And if one does, its very clear that this impeachment is unfounded and improper. And the in the federalist papers, Alexander Hamilton wrote , there will always there would always be the greatest danger, that impeachment would be driven by partisan animosity instead of real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. That impeachment would be driven by partisan animosity instead of real demonstrations of innocence or guilt. James madison, another author of the federalist papers, wrote, the danger of legislative abuse must lead to the same tyranny as is threatened by executive abuse. The founders did not want impeachment to be used for political or partisan battles. If my colleagues do not want to follow the constitutional high standards for undoing a national election, perhaps you could have followed Speaker Pelosis standard, at least the one she promised to follow back in march. It was a very sensible standard. She says, impeachment is so divisive that the evidence must be overwhelming, compelling and bipartisan. Not one of those criterias have been met today. Based on the facts, based on the evidence, based on the truth, this impeachment even fails that pelosi test. Those now who say removing President Trump would protect the integrity of our democracy have it backwards. By removing a duly elected president on empty articles of impeachment, congress will erode the public trust in our system of government. I understand you dislike the president. His beliefs, the way he governs, and even the people who voted for him. How do i know this . Because you say so day in and day out. In 2016 they even dismissed his supporters. Remember calling us deplorables . Now they are trying to disqualify our voice before the 2020 election. They want to undo the results of the last election, to influence the next one. As ive said, President Trump will still be president when this is all over. But congress will have wasted months of time and taxpayer dollars on impeachment rather than doing what the American People want us to do. It didnt have to be this way. Is this why we came here to serve . To trample on Due Process Rights . To issue more subpoenas than laws . To appease the new democrat ocialist base . That is not leadership. That is raw political politics and you know it. By refusing to acknowledge the truth or follow the facts, by substituting partisan animosity for real demonstration of innocence or guilt, and by continuing a threeyear effort to undermine the president , this impeachment has divided this nation without any concern for the repercussions. Moreover, politicizing this process has discredited the United States house of representatives. And could forever weaken the remedy of impeachment. To again quote professor turley, it is the democrats rush to impeachment on these grounds with unfair procedures that is an abuse of power. History will write that. Madam speaker, as i said at the beginning, we face a choice. Do you trust the wisdom of the people . Or do you deny them a say in their government . Fortunately the people will have the opportunity to speak up and render their verdict in 11 months, to my fellow americans. To my fellow americans, if you prove of the approve of the way this house has conducted its business, if you want to see your tax dollars go forward end toless investigations, support this impeachment. To endless investigations, support this impeachment. But if you want to restore a working Congress Like the Previous Congress that listened to you and worked to bring the best economy in this country and ountry has ever seen one that once again will work with the president to get things done for you and your family, then join with us in rejecting this baseless impeachment. Thats whats wonderful about this system of ours. We are a government of, by, and for the people. Always remember, we work for you, not the other way around. Now i will say this stronger and with more conviction than i have ever said it before. In this time of great trial and triplelation and tribulation, may god bless america. I yield back. I recognize mysel for the remainder of our time. The speaker pro tempore the gentleman is recognized. Mr. Schiff madam speaker, my colleagues, after eight hours, let us return to where we began with the articles themselves. Article one charges the president of the United States with abusing the power of his office by coercing an ally into cheating in a u. S. Election on his behalf. It charges the president of the United States it charges the the speaker pro tempore the house will be in order. The gentleman has the right to be heard. Mr. Schiff it charges the speaker pro tempore the gentleman will suspend. The gentleman may resume. Mr. Schiff it charges the president of the United States with abusing his power by with holding official acts, by with holding a white house meeting that the president of ukraine desperately sought, to establish the support of his most important benefactor, the United States, by with Holding Hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to a nation at war in order to get that nation to intervene in our election by smearing his opponent. That is thegraph men of the he gravamen of the charge. I have listened carefully to my colleagues for the last eight hours and its been hard for me to follow. But it amounts, i think, when you cut through it all, when you cut through all the sound and fury, signifying nothing, what it really amounts to is this. Why should we care . Why should we care what the president did to ukraine . First of all, we should care about our allies. We should care about ukraine. We should care about a country struggling to be free and a democracy. We used to care about democracy. We used to care about our allies. We used to stand up to putin and russia. We used to. I know the party of Ronald Reagan used to. Why should we care about ukraine . Of course its about more than ukraine. Its about us. Its abour national security. Their fight sour fight. Their defense is our defense. When russia remakes the map of europe for the First Time Since world war ii by dint of military force and ukraine strikes back, it is our fight too. And when the president sacrifices our interests, our national security, for his election, he is sacrificing our country for his personal gain. That is the gravamen of article 1. Article 2. Article 2 charges the president of the United States with obstructing congress, with denying the congress any witness, any document, by telling all of his administration people, you will not appear. You willig forea coequal branch of government. What is the defense to this from my colleagues . Again, it is why should we care . He is the president of our party, why should we care if he ignore this is congress. I remind my friends that he will not be the last president. There will be another president. And you may be one day, although you do not act like it, you may one day be in the majority. And you will want to hold a president accountable. And what will you say when that president says, you are a paper tiger, you have no oversight irk can ignore your subpoenas, what will you say . What will you argue . No, no, that was different. Then, then we were in the minority. Then it was a republican president. Will that be your argument . Is that how little faith you have in our democracy and our constitution . Is that how poorly you defend and uphold that constitution . But finally, let me ask this question. That overrides it all. Why should we care about any of this . And i will bring you to one conversation that came to light. Because its not the most important conversation but in many ways it is the most revealing. It took place on september 14 in ukraine when ambassador volker mok, the with andre yar top advisor to president zelensky. He supported the rule of law. He said, you should not investigate the last president. President por sean coe. For political reasons. You should not engage in political investigations. And you know what he said . Like you want us to do with the bidens and clintons . And in that abrupt, brutal retort, we see why we should care. Because what he was saying is, you, america, have forgotten what it means to uphold the rule of law. You have forgotten what it means to say that no one is above the law. We are a struggling democracy, but even we know better than hat. , what is atisk here risk here is the very idea of america. That idea holds that we are a nation of laws, not of men. We are a nation that believes in the rule of law. When we say we uphold the constitution, we are not talking about a piece of parchment, were tuck we are talking about a beautiful architecture in which ambition is set against ambition, in which no branch of government can dominate another that is what it means to uphold the constitution. If you ignore it if you say the president may refuse to comply, may refuse lawful process, may coerce an ally, may cheat in an election, because hes the president of our party, you do not uphold our constitution. You do not uphold your oath of office. I will tell you this. I will uphold mine. I will vote to impeach donald trump. I yield back. Years washington the has been providing unfiltered coverage of the white house, congress, and events around the country. Live, thursday on the cspan network, the house returns one day after voting to impeach President Trump and takes up work on the u. S. Mexicocanada trade deal. Cspan2, theon u. S. Senate kicks up the funding bill to keep the government funded passed fridays deadline. Mitch mcconnell is expected to open the session talking about the impeachment process. On cspan3 at 9 00 a. M. Senator pat toomey on the u. S. Mexico canada trade deal. He is the only republican to say he will vote against the measure. At 10 45 a. M. , nancy pelosi holds her News Conference on the legislative agenda