What does the president want to know . Did he ask about ukraines efforts to battle corruption . Of course not. Did he ask how the war with russia was going . Not a chance. On the phone, his voice loud enough, President Trump asked sondland, is hes going to do the investigation . The answer was clear. He ensured trump that the ukrainian president was going to do it and that he would do anything you asked him to. If that wasnt telling enough, my colleagues, in a conversation that followed, an american Diplomat Dining with sondland asked if it was true that President Trump didnt give a blank about ukraine, sondland agreed, saying the president cared only about big stuff. The diplomat noted that there
was big stuff in ukraine, like a war with russia. Sondland replied that the president cared only about big stuff that benefits him personally. Like the Biden Investigation that mr. Giuliani was pushing. In that short conversation, we learned everything we need to know about the 45th president of the United States. He doesnt care about ukraine, or the impact on our National Security caused by withholding military aid to that country fighting for its democratic life. All that matters to this president is what affects him personally commit an investigation into his political arrival and a chance to cheat in the next election. As Professor Gerhardt testified before the Judiciary Committee two weeks ago, if what we are
talking about is not impeachab impeachable, then nothing is impeachable. Even as this body and covered the facts of this ukraine scheme, even as we open an Impeachment Inquiry, even as we gathered evidence, President Trump continued his efforts to seek help in the next election. While i would think come he said from the white house lawn on october 3rd, that if they are being honest about it, they would start a Major Investigation into the bidens. Its a very simple answer, he said. He made it clear that it is an open invitation to other countries as well. Think china should start investigation into the bidens as well. President trump sent his Chief Of Staff to the white house podium and he said to the world that of course they had linked aid to investigations. And that we should just get over it. Even as these articles have made their way to this house floor, the president s personal attorney has continued pursuing these sham investigations on behalf of his client, the president. The president and his men plot on. The danger persists, the risk is real, our democracy is in peril. We are not without a remedy prescribed by the founders for just these circumstances. Impeachment. The only question is will we use it . Or have we fallen prey to another evil that the founders forewarned, the excess of factionalism. The elevation of party over country. Many of my colleagues appear to have made their choice to protect the president , to enable him to be above the law, to empower this president to cheat
again as long as it is in the service of their party and their power. They have made their choice, despite this president and the white house stonewalling every subpoena, every request for witnesses and testimony from this coequal branch of government. They have made their choice, knowing that to allow this president to obstruct congress will empower him to be as cola down like corrupt and negligent and abusive of the power of the presidency as they choose. They have made their choice, and i believe that they will rue the day that they did. When donald j. Trump was sworn in on january 20th, 2017 he repeated these words, i do
solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of the president of the United States and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States. Has he lived up to that sacred obligation . Has he honored his Oath Of Office . Has he preserved, protected, the constitution of the United States . He has not. In america, nobody is above the law. Donald j. Trump sacrificed our National Security in an effort to cheat in the next election. For that, and his continued efforts to seek foreign interference in our elections, he must be impeached. I reserve the balance of my
time. The gentleman from north dakota. Madam chair, its nice to see you here, chairman schiff. Neil we are continuing to monitor this. Welcome. Just a break to bring you up to date on the elements of this debate on the articles of impeachment. The abuse of power and the Obstruction Of Justice. Two different worlds here being displayed for the world to see. Democrats, when they had a woman unified in saying to impeach the president of the United States. Republicans come at just the opposite of. This is going along partisan lines here. We should point out as well that this is going to drag on for quite a while. We will get a vote sometime tonight on these two articles within the House Of Representatives itself pair that could be coming around the same time the president is going to be addressing a Campaign Crowd in battle creek, michigan. Ahead of that, a read on whats happening right now and where
all of this is going first with my colleague and friend bret baier. How is this going out timewise . Its going according to time, neil. Good afternoon. It has dragged on. There was a delay in the beginning with some parliamentary movements to adjourn, which obviously were shot down by the democrats. The biggest moments of our really was when House Speaker nancy pelosi went to the house floor to start this debate. She said that the president gave democrats no choice. She says the president is an ongoing threat to our National Security. She said it is a National Civics lesson today, but a sad one. She said it is about our children. Weve heard democrats in bloom numerous lawmakers say they are making this vote to impeach the president because of their children or grandchildren. One democratic lawmakers saying the president is the smoking gun here. You mentioned republicans, they are making the case not only on process, but on fox. Doug collins from georgia saying
that the president , everything has been rolled out against him and this process is exactly wrong. The james sensenbrenner, whos been around the block for impeachment numerous times, said this is all bunk. Some republicans said there were some inappropriate things done and said, however its not enough to impeach the president of the United States. Meantime, neil come on the summit side this hour, 11 more federal judges are being confirmed. So the president is racking up some wins even as you are getting this Impeachment Effort and it is a long one, that will eventually had to the senate. Neil thank you very much. I want to go to Chris Wallace as well. The timing is a little weird if you think about it. When all of this goes down come the president could be at this event in michigan where he will no doubt be mentioning this. I guess simultaneously. Absolutely. This is going to be one of those split screen moments where you could very well, seven or 8 00
tonight, have the House Of Representatives if not without end, just about to vote on impeachment donald trump, the third president in American History to be impeached. At the same time, the president will be rallying his crowd in the battle creek, michigan. If you have taken a chance to read the full six page letter, which im not saying i just read, it happened half an hour ago, that he sent to nancy pelosi yesterday, you get a sense of the real anger and victimization he feels and the fact that i suspect on the stump with an adoring crowd of his base, hes going to say even more. What weve been watching over the past four hours, if youve heard a new argument, if youve heard a new fact, youve had a more interesting experience than i have. There are a lot of impassioned speech is being made but weve heard it all before. Nobody is above the law, the
republicans, youve wanted to impeach this man since he took the oaf of office. Im really looking forward to the drama, or a couple of things. One, how Many Democrats are going to break ranks with the party and vote not to impeach the president. We know of at least two. Jeff van drew and Collin Peterson who voted against the entire Impeachment Inquiry in the first place several weeks ago. Then the question of who we are going to be appointed as the impeachment for managers. Those are the people who will go to the senate for the democrats and basically act as prosecutors. One of the interesting names as adam schiff, who we just heard whether we like them or hate him. Hes a capable speaker and he seems to have a command of the facts here that no one else seems to have come at least as terms of the democratic arguments. He is a political target and it will be interesting to see if he does represent the house Impeachment Effort on the senate floor and how he will be treated over there. Finally what kind of trial we are going to get in the senate. Is it going to be, some people are talking about the republicans immediately trying to dismiss the case as soon as they can get it. They only need 51 votes. Maybe theyll do what they did with clinton where they have several weeks of arguments and questioning, or that there is a third alternative which you begin to hear new witnesses on both sides. Thats the real drama. The process. The resolution, we know by the end of the night donald trump will of been impeached as president. Chris wallace, thank you very much. We are looking at the votes in the house that you need to get an impeachment and what we like come about 214 that would need to make this happen . Im going to give you the parliamentary algebra here. The two Roll Call Vote we had earlier today, thats the metric we have to use, for 25 and 426. Hold on just a second here, im hearing some disruption i think in the senate come in the house
chamber here. I think everything is calmed down. It seemed like there mightve been a demonstrator in the gallery. Let me go back to the parliamentary math. We had these earlier Roll Call Votes. The house has 431 members, but the voting, the total number of those casting ballots today work 425 and 426. That means that magic number, depending on who is here, to impeach. In terms of the democratic knows, we are definitely expecting Collin Peterson by more than 30 points. For the moment, jeff van drew, who is still a democrat, he has not formally switched parties. Gerrit goldman who was a Freshman Democrat from maine come he flipped a district from red to blue and basically one in her one run off. Thats quite essentially is going district. Hes going to vote yes on abuse of power and no on Obstruction Of Congress. Thats the order of the votes we
expect later today. Abuse of power and Obstruction Of Congress. Later they should have a vote to send the articles of impeachment over to the senate and also to kind of constrict the impeachment of managers. Im told they might vote on that but they will not necessarily signed the paperwork over. There are still trying to find out if the senate can get an agreement as to what a senate trial would look like. Neil all right, thank you very much. The president we wonder how much he is taking in of all this. Blake burman the white house with all of that. High neil, remember President Trump said yesterday he would not be watching the hearings. We just heard from Kellyanne Conway in the Briefing Room a little while ago. She said the president has been monitoring the, what has been going on. The debate going on on capitol hill. We did get official word from the press secretary Stephanie Grisham earlier today in which he said during the noon hour at one point the following, writing the president will be working all day, he will be briefed by staff throughout the day and
could catch some of the proceedings between meetings. Something to very clearly caught the president s attention because about 10 minutes after the white house but out that statement from the press secretary, the president then went to twitter and fired off this all caps Tweet Writing such atrocious lies by the radical left donothing democrats, this is an assault on america and an assault on the republican party. Over the white house the president is scheduled to leave within the next ten or 15 minutes heading to battle creek, michigan. We could potentially get the president On Camera For The First Time before that rally tonight, which could as brent and chris were talking about, be satisfied with whats happening in the house. Neil thank you very much. We wanted to catch everybody up and know where we stand going into what will be a very long evening and of course this final Impeachment Vote later tonight. Would you did say in the middle of all this the wall street is
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or where youre from. For a better us, donate to your local y today. For a better us, and i like to question your im yoevery move. N law. Like this left turn. Its the next one. You always drive this slow . How did you make someone i love . That must be why youre always so late. I do not speed. And thats saving me cash with drivewise. My son, he did say that you were the safe option. And thats the nicest thing you ever said to me. So get allstate. Stop bossing. Where good drivers save 40 for avoiding mayhem, like me. This is my sons favorite color, you should try it. [mayhem] you always drive like an old lady . [tina] youre an old lady. Neil we are returning to this ongoing process. Everyone gets at least 10 minutes to speak. You do the math, thats a lot of minutes. Lets go back. Since the day he was elected. In defense of the constitution, i urge all members to oppose both articles of impeachment. It is unclear who will judge those voting for impeachment today more harshly, history or voters. So, i want democrats voting for impeachment today to know that i will be praying for them. From the gospel of luke, the 23rd chapter, verse 34. And said, father forgive them for they know not what they do. Thank you, and eyes before back. The gentleman from california. Madam speaker, my colleagues have referred to Patriotic Americans who testified before the Intelligence Committee as Career Bureaucrats. I want to remind people just who those Career Bureaucrats are. They are people like ambassador bill taylor, who was served this country for decades, graduated top in his class at west point, served during vietnam in combat, earned a bronze star, they are people like colonel been men who served in iraq and earned a purple heart. There are people like ambassador Marie Jovanovich who served in dangerous places all over the world, one of the most respected of all of our Foreign Service advisors, these are the people that my colleagues would pejoratively label as Career Bureaucrats. Why . Because they have the courage to do their lawful duty, to answer
a subpoena and come and testify. For this, they are called Career Bureaucrats. We should have more Career Bureaucrats of that caliber. I am pleased to yield one minute to the gentleman of california. Speak of the gentleman is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker arrives with a heavy heart. The two most difficult votes and a member of congress ever has to cast is devoted to go to war, or to impeach. Today i will vote for the articles of impeachment. Over the last few months ive listened carefully to my constituents, ive weighed all of the available information to determine whether or not the president committed any wrongdoing. They are disturbing facts from this administration that informed my decision including the president s own words, is ambassador to the European Union testified there was a quid pro quo to withhold aid to the ukraine for an investigation of former Vice President biden and that everyone was in the loop. His own National Security advisor, john bolton, said he wanted nothing to do with this drug deal, as he called it. The president openly acknowledged that china and ukraine should investigate mr. Biden. There is much more evidence pointing to the president violating his own Oath Of Office. I have not made this decision lightly, but i must uphold my own Oath Of Office because i believe the president has failed to uphold his Oath Of Office. The weight of history and my belief in the constitution of the United States and our own National Security interests have led me to this vote and i yield back the balance of my time. Speak of the gentleman from georgia. Thank you Madam Speaker. I appreciate anyone who would come and give testimony, but it is interesting to see that the same chairman who just spoke eloquently but those who testified would dismiss almost anything by mr. Volker or mr. Morrison. Again, i will say at least they have the ability and the willingness to come and testify. Unlike the charming who wrote a report in the senate Judiciary Committee and didnt. With that i yield a minute and half to miss granger. The young lady is recognized
from an and a half. Madam speaker i rise today and strong opposition to the politically driven articles of impeachment that have been brought before the House Of Representatives today. For the past three years, democrats have been unable to accept the voters choice to elect President Trump. They have used any and all undemocratic and unfair means necessary to try and remove him from office. My vote today is not only against illegitimate against illegitimate impeachment of our president , which began not with fax but with a foregone conclusion, it is against House Democrats making a mockery of due process and the rule of law. This will not go anywhere in the senate, so all democrats have accomplished is postponing the important work of the American People sat there elected officials to washington to do this endless crusade of democrats to remove the duly elected president of the United States has put partisan politics above the issues that america has faced today. It is time democrats stopped
playing partisan games that hurt hard working taxpayers. Its time for the American People to be Congress Priority again. I urge my colleagues to join me in voting to know and i yield back the balance of my time. The gentleman from california. Think you Madam Speaker. I am more than delighted to refer to the testimony ambassador volker and mr. Mr. Morrison. Ambassador volker, who acknowledged that in retrospect he shouldve recognized that when they were calling for investigations of brits might come it really meant the bidens. And then to ask a foreign leader to investigate a political rival was wrong. Happy to refer to his testimony as well as mr. Morrison, who went to the National Security council lawyer immediately after he listened to that Telephone Call and who also testified that he was informed by the ambassador sondland that the president wanted zelensky any public box. He wanted him to be forced to go to the mic and announced these sham investigations. Happy to refer to their testimony as well. And now happy to recognize the gentlewoman from california for 2 minutes. The young lady is recognized for 2 minutes. Thank you Madam Speaker. My father fled father fled nazi germany for america because he saw what happened when a dust but became untethered. He fled to because he believed in democracy and the rule of law and the right to vote. Before he died he asked to be buried in a simple pine box with an American Flag to symbolize his love of this country. Today, we are called upon to do our duty out of love of country. The president stands accused, we must judge him as we judge any of our fellow citizens come on the facts and on the law. The facts show that the president s northstar is russia, not that the constitution. There is no question that a President Trump that President Trump delayed military
aid to ukraine, our ally, as they were under attack by russia, our adversary. There is no question the president withheld a meeting with president zelensky at the white house giving rush of the upper hand in Peace Negotiations with ukraine. There is no question that President Trump or mode russians hope that ukraine attacked our election in 2016. A canard that has proven to be a lie, a russian lot. The only question is his motive. The fact that his conduct and crimes are reprehensible and unquestionably impeachable. When i vote today, my fathers legacy is deep, very deep within me. My father Loved America and i love america. That is why i will vote to impeach the president of the United States. I yield back. Speak of the gentle men from georgia. I see how this is playing out. Instead of coming to testify in answering all questions come over going to do it in potshot
as we go. Lets talk about mr. Voelker again. He never testified that anyone wanted to investigate Vice President biden. What he did testify to was that he wanted to attest that if ukrainian is doing bad things, place Hunter Bryden on the board of trudeau, that need to be investigated and found out. Had plenty of time to do this in an actual hearing, not here. This is what they want, this is what theyve been wanting. The majority is by this the whole time so we will play this out as long as they want to. It wouldve been better if they actually had a case to have made in the proper setting instead of not coming and not testifying. With that i yield a minute and half to the gentleman from texas. The gentleman is recognized. Is recognized from an and half. Its interesting to hear the socialistic Left Democrats that have a newfound appreciation for the constitution and our founders principles. With that, those same socialists would afford onboard babies the right to life, liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness as well. Madam speaker, history tells us the first three impeachments in
this country to crimes were involved. Johnson violated a law that congress had just passed over his veto. Nixon was involved in a coverup with watergate. Clinton lied to a federal a grand jury. Crimes. All instances of crimes. Now comes extensively reading the president s minds, knowing what his intent was, and dictating to us and to the witnesses that were in the hearings what his mind set was and quite frankly they didnt believe that he had the quite dull mike wright to be interred to Foreign Policy. We heard ambassadors and yes we heard Career Bureaucrats, whatever you want to call them. They get to ride the bus, they dont get to drive the bus. The president is in charge of Foreign Policy. They said the president had the audacity to use his judgment on Foreign Policy instead of theirs. Opinions, opinions. Suppositions indeed. The very swap he is draining is
objecting. Who knew . Oneill . Today no during the earlier rule debate comes the far manager of the other side for massachusetts, citing not facts but newspaper articles. Cnn, editorials. Unbelievable, Madam Speaker. Americans are watching. These are delusional and in deep yogurt. I yield back. The gentleman from california. I want to remind my colleagues that ambassador volker said the attacks on joe biden were meritless and he tried to persuade mr. Giuliani that there was no factual support for them. Proud to recognize the gentleman from georgia, mr. Lewis, for 2 minutes. The gentleman is recognized. For 2 minutes. Madam speaker, i want to thank the gentleman for yieldi
yielding. Madam speaker, i rise with a heavy heart to support this resolution. When we came to washington in 1961 we chose that day. When we came here in august 28th, 1963 for the march on washington, ed was choice full. We met with a young president , president John Fitzgerald kennedy. When we came here in August 6th 1965 with the signing of the Voting Rights act, we were excited, hopeful, weep met president johnson. This day, we didnt ask for this. This was a fairy day. It is not a day of joy. Our nation is founded on the principle that we do not have kings, we have president s. The constitution is our accomplice. When you see something that is not right, not just not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. Our children and their children will ask us what did you do . For some, this vote may be all right. We have a mission and a mandate to be on the right side of history. I yield back the balance of my time. Gentleman from georgia. Think you Madam Speaker. I do appreciate the gentle men from california confirming every thing i said my statement a moment ago. Will that i yield 2 minutes of my time to the gentleman from ohio. Madam speaker since 2016 america has seen a pattern of failed and disproven attacks and allegations against
President Trump. Today is the fourth impeachment related vote since President Trump took office. Its yet another attempt to reach the predetermined conclusion of impeachment, a conclusion built on political bias, accusations, and innuendo. These repetitive and false allegations reveal a political obsession disguised as some kind of righteous oversight. When they didnt win at the ballot box, they pursued a russian collusion narrative. The special Counsel Robert Mueller had to waste time and taxpayer dollars to prove false. When the russian collusion deception didnt work, democrats sought a new path forward to impeach President Trump. They created a madefortv set of hearings complete with witness auditions held in the basement of the capital. Despite all of their efforts, the charges the house considers today lack evidence to support them. There wasnt one witness that said a crime or Impeachable Offense was committed. Madam speaker, i remind my colleagues no crime, no Impeachable Offense. Thats a pretty good defense if you ask me. I will work diligently to further reveal the troops and further reveal the abuses of power, Madam Speaker, the democrats paid for and enacted during the last three years. Abuses of power from the other side of the aisle within this body, and within our fbi. Americans deserve the truth. All in all, history will remember today is the political impeachment that set the president s to be impeached every time theres a divided government. I oppose the articles before us today and i yield back to the other side and they are superior imaginations. The gentleman from california. I am proud to recognize the gentleman from illinois, mr. Quigley, for 2 minutes. The gentleman is recognized. For 2 minutes. Think you Madam Speaker. We are here today because the president of the United States abused his power and betrayed his Oath Of Office. He laid siege to the foundation of our democracy, the electoral process. These actions opposed a direct threat to the freedom and fairness of the upcoming 2020 election. The very day after Robert Mueller testified that russia had systematically and relentlessly attack the 2016 election, the president picked up the phone and made his now infamous July 25th Call to ukrainian president zelensky come asking the president Zelensky To Go do us a favor and announce investigations into his political rival, joe biden. We have since learned from numerous National Security council and state Department Officials that the president did not expect ukraine to open these investigations, rather he wanted them announced so he could smear his arrival. Rather than trusting orders to decide who should hold the white house, he again sought the aid of a foreign country to tip
the scales in favor again. After russias unprecedented interference a dark cloud hung over the 2016 election end instead of leading people out from under the cloud, the president instead emboldened by perceived lack of consequence attempted to pressure zelensky to interfere in the 2020 election. After a courageous whistleblower came forward and warned congress and the public about the president s scheme, the president stood on the white house lawn in front of tv cameras broadcasting Around The World and called for china to interfere too. Some of my colleagues asked why not wait . Why are we proceeding . That is very simple. Nothing could be more urgent, we are on the precipice of the 2020 election and congress has ultimate responsibility to protect the sacred equalizer, our right to vote. To defend the integrity of our elections commitment to fulfill our duty to the constitutions, i will be voting in favor of
impeachment today and i yield back. Of the jenna menta from georgia. At this point i yield one minute to the gentleman from colorado. The telemann is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker, anyone watching this impeachment sounded fury, signifying nothing should look out for three representations the democrats are making. One comment trump endangered National Security. Now, the 55 delay dell mcdade delay did not stop ukrainian from defending themselves. Trump gave them lethal aid which obama never did. During obamas negligence, democrats are nothing new. Two, trump is not about the law. No one is, but what of the democrats tells what law they broke what might they cant, because he didnt break any. Democrats have resorted to do vaticans objective articles from abuse of power and Obstruction Of Justice. Three, the evidence is not in dispute. The evidence is very much in dispute. In fact for every statements
democrats cherry picked to indict trump, many more statements back at the president. In reality, this is nothing but a partisan ploy by democrats to overturn an election. This charade will fail and the senate Will Exonerate Trump and everyone knows it. Speak of the gentleman yields back. The jenna menta from california. Madam speaker im proud to recognize the gentleman from texas, mr. Castro, for 2 minutes. Is my colleagues have said, the evidence of visa power and Obstruction Of Justice is uncontested. Thats a win a few key events involving the nearly 40 million of military that was withheld by President Trump and for President Trump despite congressional mandate. The summer of 2019 was the summer of shame that the white house. On july 3rd the white house first Block Security assistance money from ukraine with no explanation. On july 10th, Gordon Sondland states that they will get a white house meeting only after
bouncing an investigation into President Trumps political rival. On july 18th, a white house staffer announces the freeze on ukrainian aid per direct president ial order. Just one day after robert millers testimony before congress, President Trump makes the now infamous phone call with the zelensky come asking him to investigate the bidens. Then, things start to fall apart. See, the white house learnt that a whistleblower has reported President Trumps phone call with president zelensky in a complaint. On september 9th, Congress Starts to investigate the president s actions. And then the jig is up. On september 11th, the eta suddenly released without explanation over two months later. When you read the call transcript and follow the timeline i have laid out, guilty is guilty, nothing changed during that time regarding the president s supposed concerns over corruption. Lets be clear. The Military Aide was released because the president got caught. Getting caught doesnt get you off the hook. I asked my colleagues, is attempted murder a crime . His attempted robbery a crime . Is attempted extortion and bribery by a president a crime . Yes, it is. The only question now is whether we will find the moral courage to stand up for our country and impeach the president of the United States. I yield back. The gentleman from georgia. Think you Madam Speaker come at this minute i yield a minute and half to the gentleman from north carolina. Madam speaker i rise in opposition to the impeachment of President Trump. Todays a day that diminishes the reputation and stature of the United States House Of Representatives, i day i never thought i would say. Today my democratic colleagues seek to overturn an election by forcing about that will forever be a stain on this congress. They are not just voting to
impeach President Trump, my colleagues are voting to impeach the judgment of every person who voted for him and the process by which we elect a president and by which we will govern our nation. My democratic colleagues claimed the russian influence the outcome of the 2016 election, but based on their corrupt impeachment proceedings it appears my colleagues have been influenced by how russia conducts political tribals. No real evidence, no crime, no due process, and no justice. The democrats have failed to show any legitimate justification for the impeachment of President Trump. When they cannot find real evidence they made it up and called it a parody. They connected most of the hearings in secret, they instructed people to not answer republican questions and they deny the republican right to call witnesses, making it absolutely clear that their objection was from the beginning pathetically political. We all understand that elections have consequences. While my colleagues, democrats and republicans alike, this day will surely have consequences as well. As we descend into more disrespect, distrust, and even contempt that will eventually be destructive of this chamber and i fear, eventually our republic. I urge all members to vote no on impeachment and i yield back. The gentleman from california. I think the speaker. Very quickly, my colleagues have made repeated reference to some secret proceedings in some secret chamber. This is a partly what they call depositions. I remind my colleagues that when they were in the majority they conducted depositions, but they were different in this respect. And the depositions we conduct in the Intelligence Committee, over 100 members were able to participate. Thats how secret they were. We revealed all of the transcripts of those depositio depositions. The repetition of this falsehood does not make it true, it only makes the fall said that much more deliberate. With that i am pleased to recognize the gentleman from michigan, mr. Maas, for 2 minutes. The gentleman is recognized. For 2 minutes. Think you Madam Speaker. I arrived today in support of these articles of impeachment. A come to the floor not as a democrat, not as a republican, but as an american. Who cares deeply about the constitution, the rule of law, and the rights of the people. Under our system of government, impeachment is not about Policy Disagreements or an effective governance, nor is it about a criminality based on statutes that did not exist at the time our constitution was written. Impeachment is about maintaining the integrity of the office of the presidency and ensuring the Executive Power is directed towards proper ends in accordance with the law. The constitution grants the house the sole power of impeachment, and the senate the sole power of the trial of impeachment. We in the house Are Empowered to charge impeachable conduct. The constitution describes such conduct as high crimes and misdemeanors, because it pertains to high office and it relates to the misuse of that
office. We need not rely in any other branch or body to endorse our determinations. We have the sole power of impeachment. In federalist number 65, Alexander Hamilton wrote that high crimes and misdemeanors are those offenses which proceed for the misconduct of public men, or in other words, for the abuse in violation of some public trust. They are of a nature which made with peculiar propriety, be denominated political, as they relate chiefly to injuries done immediately to the society itself. President donald j. Trump has abused and violated the public trust by using his high office to solicit the aid of a foreign power. Not for the benefit of the United States of america, but instead for his personal and political gain. His actions reflect but precisely the type of conduct the framers of the constitution
intended to remedy through the power of impeachment. It is our duty to impeach him. I yield back. The gentleman from georgia. Thank you. The manager of this bill. The inspector i general transcript is not been released. They are not been commenced transferred to the white house and we are still not sure we got every thing we are supposed to get an Judiciary Committee. When you want to be transparent and open, you hold in the skiff and do whatever you want. With that, i yield 2 minutes of the gentleman from florida. The jenna menta jenna menta is recognized for 2 minutes. Think you Madam Speaker. This Impeachment Trade did not start with a whistleblower complaint. The campaign to impeach a duly elected president started 19 minutes after the president took the Oath Of Office. 90 minutes after the inauguration of the Washington Post published a headline saying the campaign to impeach is begun. Democratic member of my class called for the impeachment of the president long before the
call of ukraine. That was the Russia Collusion host and Obstruction Of Justice and then bribery and defend quid pro quo. None of which are included in these articles before us today. The first article of impeachment crafted is a fiction is not an enumerated basis, the democratic majority would have you believe that abuse of power is a high crime or misdemeanor. It is not. Its an opinion. Is not even a crime that can be charged on the court of law, unlike president s nixon and Clinton Newark tried for actual crimes, this president is being impeached on vague phrases that appear nowhere in our constitution. The second article, Obstruction Of Congress, Again Doesnt Exist In The Constitution as a basis for impeachment and is intending to impeach a duly elected president that have been asserted on a bipartisan basis by both Political Parties throughout our nations history. This house is impeaching a president over a phone call to another world leader. Iif you lines and no Phone Transcript that have been utterly misrepresented by the majority. The process was anything but open, transparent, bipartisan,
or equitable. Abandoning all past historical due process afforded the minority in the president , the democrats run a person investigation refusing the rights of the minority and refusing the right of the president s council to call witness. Refusing to allow president s council to crossexamine fact witnesses. The majority waves around a report drafted that the democratic staff concocted as a matter of staff. When they need a backup for their approach they paraded out professors who give them license to impeach the president for anything they wish. House democrats are making themselves kings in a manner far worse and more obvious than what they are accusing the president of doing. The only abuse of power here is the democratic led congress. I yield back. The gentleman from california. Madam speaker, im proud to yield one minute the mistresses narrow, the jenna menta from california. The gentleman is recognized. When i was 18 years old i joined the United States navy to
take the oath to support the constitution for the first time. I took that oath earlier this year as a member of congress. Everyday i work hard to live by that oath and give the 39th district the representation it deserves. Ive always maintained that impeachment is a serious undertaking and must be done with incredible care. When the allegations against the president and his interactions with ukraine were first reported, i felt it was Congress Duty to investigate and find out the truth. Now the factor before congress and the American People. The president betrayed his out the support and defend the constitution by attempting to undermine the integrity of a Fair Election for his own personal benefit. He asked a Foreign Government to investigate a political rival and endanger our National Security by withholding military aid to an alley. For me, its not about personal politics of party affiliation. Its about withholding our earth but our constitution first and protect our National Security. This is why i will vote to move forward with the impeachment of the president. I hope all my colleagues will
join in recognizing this great thread and stand up to this administration in defense of our country and our constitution. With that i yield back. The jenna menta from georgia. I yield a minute and after the gentleman from tennessee. Speak of the jenna menta is recognized from and an half. Going back almost three years to win the resident was one of the office we have seen some numbers on the other side of the aisle pledging and promising to impeach President Trump. Prior to the start of this inquiry, Speaker Pelosi claimed the impeachment must be compelling, overwhelming, and bipartisan. The Impeachment Inquiry was announced less than three months ago and what we know is that the processes been fast, faulty, and flawed. What we have witnessed since september 24th, when the inquiry was announced, is the evidence we have seen is not compelling them it is not overwhelming, and the process is undoubtably and unquestionably, not bipartisan. I am doing this through the lens of a former United States
attorney. As we take this vote, here is the bottom line for the American People. There was no bribery, there was no extortion, there was no quid pro quo, there were no high crimes or misdemeanors committed by the president. I yield back. The gentleman from california. The young lady is recognized for one minute. Madam speaker, we know the President Trump withheld needed military aid to ukraine. We know that he used it to demand ukraine interfere in the 2020 election for his own benefit. We know that ukraine knew. None of these facts have been disputed. Instead, the white house has tried to hide the truth. The president is not above the law. Nobody is. Corruption and obstruction, the president is guilty of both. The blatant abuse of power was
made clear from over 100 hours of testimony before three committees and was clear in the call summary released by the white house. The obstruction has been made clear by the president s refusal to cooperate at every turn, even when ordered by a court. Setting a precedent that any president can abuse their power to interfere in our elections is an existential threat to our democracy. It is also a betrayal of the Oath Of Office and the constitution. Therefore in fulfillment of my own Oath Of Office commits with solid purpose today that i vote to impeach president donald trump. The gentleman from georgia. Thinking Madam Speaker come at this time i yield a minute and half. Madam speaker, democrats started with quid pro quo, that
didnt work so well. Then it was bribery extortion. Then they brought witnesses in and not one could answer if they saw any evidence of bribery, extortion, or any crime when questioned. There was silence. The witnesses always testified i heard this from soandso. When the democrats brought their Star Witness Income ambassador sondland, when he asked he said i presume the aide was held up. I presume . Testimony was all hearsay, conjecture, and assumptions. Now its abuse of power with no underlying crime, which is opinion. Abuse of power to the diagram rats is they dont like his policies or he retreated a reporter harshly. Obstruction of congress. There are three coequal branches of government. Executive, legislative have an impasse, thats when the Judicial Branch intervenes. They didnt do that. The democrats didnt seek that route. Every president , including george washington, could have been impeached based on these
feckless articles. There is no crime, there is no victim as ukraine received their aid, and no witnesses that witnessed anything. This isnt about the rule of law, its politics at its worse. Its disgraceful. Its time to end the charade and scam of the American People. I urge everyone to vote no. I yield back. The gentleman from california. I have to remind my colleagues evan passed her son lynns testimony. He posed the question was there a quid pro quo . The answer is yes. When he was asked about a quid pro quo involving the military aid he said it was as clear as to plus two equals four. I am pleased to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from illinois. It is my adult son whom i will always credit for my decision last june to support an Impeachment Inquiry. It had never been my goal to
impeach a president , but i have made such a compelling case. He reminded me of the oath i have taken 11 times now to support and defend the constitution of the United States. He said mom, this is not about politics. This is not about a party. Pushed past against my arguments, he said this has nothing to do with the final outcome. It is about doing the right thing, even if others dont. He made me see that it was about my legacy, my modest place in history. I want to thank you, my son, for helping me do the right thing today devote commit to impeach the president of the United States, donald trump. No american is above the law. I yield back. The gentlewoman from georgia. Thank you, madam. Id like to remind each element from california mr. Solomon also said he had no direct evidence. He presumed that was going on. The gentleman is recognized for a minute an and a half. On March The 11th of this year, the speaker of the house so the following in an interview in the Washington Post commit impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there is something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan i dont think we should go down that path because it divides the country. I think most americans would agree with that statement because it sounds thoughtful and reasonable. Here we are today devote on articles of impeachment. How did the Majority Party dealing meeting the objectives set forth by the speaker . Here are the answers. First, the only compelling attribute about this sham is the link the majority has gone to appease the National Socialist ring of the party. The overwhelming feature of this sham is the abuse of power by the majority in a Reckless Disregard for fairness by the majority throughout this entire
circus. Finally, the only bipartisan activity will be the votes against this flimsy article. I asked my colleagues to join me in opposing this deplorable articles of impeachment and to demand that the house get back to working on the priorities that hardworking families care about the most. I yield back. Gentleman is recognized for one minute. I spent 12 years in the house Intelligence Committee as ranking member. My barred partisan cooperation with the german was widely recognized. When it comes to National Security there is no room for bipartisan politics. All 17 witnesses, mostly trump appointees, told the same story during the Intelligence Committee hearings. Each testifying that our commanderinchief jeopardized american National Security for the shake of his reelection. The president held Hostage Military Aid for the fight against a common enemy, russia. He willfully obstructed congress is constitutionally prescribed impeachment powers. I resent those who say this is about reversing the election. This Isnt About Whether or not you like trump, its about upholding our constitution. Allowing those contacts t to gon question sets a dangerous precedent and permanently damages our system of checks and balances. No one is above the law. President trumps actions are clear threat to our National Security and democracy. We must uphold our Oath Of Office and support these articles. I yield back. The joe newman from georgia. I yield a minute have to the gentleman from michigan. Thank you Madam Speaker. I rise today in strong opposition to these baseless articles of impeachment. Our funding fathers never intended and impeachment to be a
one sided political weapon. Sadly the majority has reduced this serious constitutional action to a purely partisan tactic to take down President Trump. History will not be kind to the vote today. It will be remembered as a rushed process that lacks credibility or transparency with a predetermined outcome that puts a premium on the political theater and set of facts. By any objective standard, the democrats impeachment case is the thinnest imaginable. There is no Impeachable Offense before us today. It is a complete and total sham. I close not by quoting a president from the past, but rather from the duly elected president donald trump. To my democrat colleagues, through you Madam Speaker, you are the ones interfering in
americas election. You are the ones subverting americans democracy. You are the ones obstructing justice. You are the ones bringing pain and suffering to a republic for your own selfish personal political and partisan gain. These are hard words, i know. That is the sad reality of this entire process. I will proudly vote note today, a veld that upholds our constitution commit offends our president , and preserves the pillars of our nations democracy and now i yield back. The jenna menta from california. I recognize the gentleman from arizona for one minute. The gentleman is recognized. For one minute. I will vote in favor of impeachment today. The facts are irrefutable and the ongoing obstruction and cover up is shameful. My parents came here as immigrants and im proud to live in a nation that rewarded their hard work by providing a better
feature on my future for my sister and on. As a first generation american and now a member of congress, a story like mine is only made possible by nation that upholds the rule of law and truly lives out the values inscribed in our constitution. Mona and i are blessed with three wonderful daughters and five grandkids. Because of this living legacy, and the legacy i intend to pass on to my grandchildren, my vote today is rooted in predicting their future. The other opinions for impeachment are real and historic. Trump is inverted the rule of law and engaged in coverup. No amount of misdirection compliance, disinformation, cries of victimization by trump and others can undo the abuse of power and Obstruction Of Congress that remain clear and present. The president leaves us no choice but to vote to impeach so that we can protect our democracy and correct the damage that is already done. I will vote in favor of impeachment of donald j. Trump, not as a partisan act but as a
serious urgent and necessary one. I yield back. The gentleman from georgia. 21 years ago this week i spoke year on impeachment. In this, sadly, history will not treat democrats well. They will be remembered as the senator Joe Mccarthys of our time. So blinded by their hatred of President Trump they abandoned american rights of due process and fairness and decency. Reminiscent of joe mccarthy they assaulted the constitution, did secret hearings, and switched charges. Ultimately they chose abuse of power because they practice it so well. President trump committed no crime or impeachable defense, none. His legacy wont be stained, democrats well. We will look back at these days in shame because trump haters in
congress, like red haters of the past, are willing to plunge America Into Darkness for a romp political gain. This impeachment betrays the nation, the constitution, and the American People. I vote no. The gentleman yields back. Gentlemen is recognized for one minute. Tierney rarely appears full born. It arises, it approaches as freedom abs. Our nations founders sought to protect us from tyranny with its neil i should remind you the president of the United States left the white house a short time ago. He thought he would comment on these developments, he chose not to
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