that. first of all, i think not hearing the evidence, not requiring the president to produce what could be exculpatory evidence, but first-hand evidence of what happened is taking a sledgehammer to the constitution. what is left of the impeachment power if congress can t investigate? it s not only donald trump today, it could be donald trump tomorrow or donald trump in the future or another donald trump down the road. democrat or republican. it is a destruction of the impeachment power. and that was the central power that the framers created to protect our democracy. so it is really serious. and it s not just the refusal to call witnesses, but it s a statement of mcconnell, i can t be impartial, i m not an impartial juror. not only am i working hand in glove with the white house, but i m not going to be impartial and it s a great thing i m not going to be impartial. lindsey graham too says i m not impartial. i completely agree with that.
that, too, is why the impeachment power exists. a president who subverts both our elections and our constitutional system of checks and balances puts himself above the law, and it is congress s duty to hold the president, any president, accountable. it gives us no pleasure, no pleasure to stand here today, but president trump s conduct has put our next election at risk. president trump s behavior puts the integrity of our constitutional order at risks and president trump s continued actions put the rule of law at risk. the framers gave us the power of impeachment for exactly this reason and in fulfillment of our oath and obligation to the american people, today we took action to hold president trump accountable for the serious and undisputed risk he poses to our free and fair elections and to the separation of powers that safeguards our liberty. a president must not be allowed to become a dictator.
along partisan lines. i m concerned about it being trivialized and used as a political tool. steve: is he talking about impeachment right there. the attorney general bill barr back against democrats push for impeachment cautioning against using it as a political tool. our next guest warned this will weaken the constitution as we know it. here to explain department of justice spokesman ian prior joins us from d.c. good morning to you. good morning. steve: how about the suggestion in griff jenkins report at the top of the hour that nancy pelosi is floating this idea that has been she doesn t send the articles of impeachment to the senate because then they can t have a trial because she feels like it might not be fair? yeah. it s absolutely ridiculous. and this further backs up the point that attorney general barr made which is that democrats have taken the power of the constitution and the power of congress that impeachment power, which is supposed to be break glass in case of emerg
detriment of the national security interests of the united states. that is the very definition of an impeachable offense. when congress began to investigate president trump s wrongdoing, he engaged in an unprecedented pattern of obstruction. that, too, is why the impeachment power exists. a president who subverts both our elections and our constitutional system of checks and balances puts himself above the law, and it is congress duty to hold the president, any president accountable. it gives us no pleasure no pleasure to stand here today, but president trump s conduct has put our next election at risk. president trump s behavior puts the integrity of our constitutional order at risk. and president trump s continued actions put the rule of law at risk. the framers gave us the power of impeachment for exactly this reason. and in fulfillment of our oath and obligation to the american people, today, we took action to hold president trump accountable
impeachable offense. he engaged in an unprecedented pattern of obstruction. that, too, is why the impeachment power exists. a president who subverts both our elections and our constitutional system of checks and balances puts himself above the law, and it is congress duty to hold the president, any president accountable. it gives us no pleasure no pleasure to stand here today, but president trump s conduct has put our next election at risk. president trump s behavior puts the integrity of our constitutional order at risk. and president trump s continued actions put the rule of law at risk. the framers gave us the power of impeachment for exactly this reason. and in fulfillment of our oath and obligation to the american people today we took action to hold president trump accountable for the serious and undisputed risk he poses to our free and fair elections and to the separation of powers that safe