Rep. Nadler the house commissioning to medium the judiciary will come forward. The quorum is present. Hearingonducting this on the impeachment inquiry into president donald j. Trump, the presentations from the house pertinent select committee on intelligence in the House Judiciary Committee pursuant to House Resolution 660 and the special to sherry Committee Procedures that are described in section four a of that were season of that. I will make an Opening Statement and then i will recognize the Ranking Member for no statement. After that we will hear two sets of presentations. Openinghear 30 minute arguments from councils for the majority and minority. [gavel] rep. Nadler order in the room. Order in the room. Order in the committee room. [indiscernible] rep. Nadler committee will come to order. Obviously i shouldnt have to remind everyone present that the audience is here to observe, but not to demonstrate, not to indicate agreement or disagreement with any witness or with any member of the committee. The audience is here to observe only and we will maintain to coram the hearing. Again i will say here is how the committee will proceed for this hearing. I will make it Opening Statement and i will recognize the Ranking Member for an Opening Statement. We will hear two sets of presentations, 30 minute opening arguments from councils from the majority and majority of this majority and minority of this committee. Of and it presentations and 45 minute presentations of evidence. Followed by the chair and Ranking Member who may yield to counsel for questioning during this. Both of our member all of our members will have the question the time to question under the fiveminute rule. I would note that the president s council was given the opportunity to participate today but the white house has declined the invitation. I will now recognize myself for an Opening Statement. No matter his party or politics, the president places his own interest above those in the country. He betrays his oath of office. The president of the United States, speaker of the house, majority leader of the senate, chief justice of the spring court and the chairman and Ranking Members of the House Committee on the your sherry all have one important thing in common. Tohave each taken an oath preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States. If the president puts himself before the country, he violates a president s most basic responsibility, breaks his oath to the American People. If he puts himself before the country in a manner that eatens our democracy and than our oath requires us to come to the defense of the nation. It stands even when politically inconvenient, even when it might bring us under criticism. When it might cost us our jobs as members of congress. And even if the president is unwilling to honor his oath, i am compelled to honor mine. Hearing,rd in our last the framers of the constitution were careful students of history and clear in their vision with a new nation. They knew that threats to democracy could take many forms and that we must protect against it. They warned us against the dangers of would be monarchs, populists fake populist and charismatic demagogues. They knew the most dangerous threat might come from within in the form of a corrupt executive who put his private interests above the interests of the nation. They also knew that they could not anticipate every threat a president might someday pose so they adopted the phrase treason, bribery, and other high crimes and misdemeanors. To capture the full spectrum of possible president ial misconduct. George mason, who proposed the standard, said it was meant to capture all manner of great and dangerous offenses against the constitution. The debates around the framing made clear that the most serious of such offenses include abuse of power, but trail of the nation through foreign entanglements and corruption of Public Office. Any one of these violations of the public trust to compel the members of this committee to take action. Combined in a single course of action the state the strongest possible case for impeachment and removal from office. Himselft trump put before the country. Despite the blue copart are partisanship that seemed to puncture our hearings today, i believe there is Common Ground around some of these ideas. Common ground in this hearing room and Common Ground across the country at large. We agree for example that impeachment is a solemn and serious undertaking. We agree that it is meant to address serious threats to Democratic Institutions like our free and Fair Elections. The electionswhen themselves are threatened by enemies foreigner domestic, we cannot wait until the next election to address the threat. We surely agree that no public official, including and especially the president of the United States, should use his Public Office for private gain. No president that may put himself before the country. The constitution and his oath of office. His promise require the president to put the country first. If we could drop our blinders for one moment, i think we would agree on a common set of facts as well. Trumpy 25, president called president zelensky of ukraine and ask him for a favor. That call was part of a concerted effort by President Trump to compel the government of ukraine to announce investigations, not an investigation of corruption writ large but an investigation of president from local rivals. And only his political rivals. President trump puts himself before the country. The record shows the President Trump withheld military aid allocated by the United States congress from ukraine. It also shows that he withheld a white house meeting from president zelensky. Multiple witnesses, including respected diplomats, National Security professionals and decorated war veterans all testified to the same basic facts. President trump withheld the aid at the meeting in order to pressure a Foreign Government to doing that favor. President trump put himself before the country. Caught, president got when congress discovered the aid has been withheld to ukraine, the president took extraordinary and unprecedented steps to conceal evidence in congress and from the American People. These facts are not in dispute. Most of the argument about these appear to be beside the point. As we review the evidence today, i expect we will hear much about the whistleblower and concerns about who raises concerns about the call. Let me be clear, every fact alleged by the whistleblower has been substantiated by multiple witnesses. Again and again. Each of whom has been questioned extensively but and republicans alike. Allegations of also matched up with the president s own words as released by the white house, words that he still says were perfect. I also expect to hear complaints about the term quid pro quo as if a person needs to verbally acknowledge the day the name of a crime while he is committing it for it to be a crime at all. The record on this point is also clear. Multiple officials testify that the president s demand for an investigation into his rivals was a part of his perfect political agenda and not related to the Foreign Policy objectives of the United States. Mold multiple officials testify the president intended to withhold the aid until ukraine announced investigations. And yes multiple officials testified that they understood this arrangement to be a quid pro quo for the president s personal political benefit. President trump put himself before the country. President s supporters will argue this whole process is unfair. ,he record before us is clear we invited the president to participate in this hearing, to question witnesses and present evidence that might explain the charges against him. President trump chose not to show. He may not have much to say in his own defense, but he cannot claim he did not have an opportunity to be heard. Today, wes we proceed will hear at a great deal about the house is addressing the actions. To the memos of the committee, members of the house and to my fellow citizens i want to be clear. The integrity of our next election is at stake. Nothing could be more urgent. Welcomed foreign interference into our elections 202016, he demanded it in and then he got caught. If you do not believe he will do it again, let me remind you the president s personal lawyer spent next last week back in ukraine meeting with government officials in an apparent attempt to gin up the same socalled favors that brought him here today and forced congress to consider the impeachment of a sitting president. This pattern of conduct represents a continuing risk to the country. The evidence shows that donald trump, the president of the United States, has put himself before his country. He has violated his most basic responsibilities to the people, he has broken his oath. I will honor mine. If you honor yours i will urge you to do your duty. Let us review the record here in full view of the American People and then let us move swiftly to defend our country. That we would. I now recognize the Ranking Member of the committee, the gentleman from georgia. For an Opening Statement. The judgment from georgia is recognized. Rep. Collins already you now can recognize a unanimous consent request. Rep. Nadler the judgment from georgia is recognized. Point of order, mr. Chairman. Rep. Collins the gentleman mr. Chairman last week you are pursuant to clause two jay one of rule 11 a blatant and egregious violation of rules youre refusing to schedule that hearing therefore i insist on my point of order unless youre willing to a meal he schedule a minority hearing day. Rep. Nadler that is not a proper point of order for todays hearing. Ive told the ranking memory several times now im considering the request. The Ranking Member the judgment will suspend, the Ranking Member thinks we would be violating the rules of the house if we considered articles of impeachment before holding minority day hearing. His point of order would be timely in a meeting what we consider articles of impeachment. That is not the purpose of todays hearing and a point of order is not timely. The gentleman from georgia. Rep. Collins while that got us started again. The chairman completely not answering a question. It is timely and frankly not up to his discretion but begin again he is not really cared about that from the start to begin with. To schedule a hearing but undoubtedly that wont be out there. Lets start over. Now that the chairman has recognized and we got that point. There are been famous moments in impeachment. Famous moments as weve gone forward, famous lines from nixon like what did the president know and when did he know it. From clinton there was i did not have sex with that woman. What would be known about this one is probably where is the Impeachable Offense . Why are we here . Ill tell you, this may be become known as the focus group impeachment. Because we dont have a crime or anything we can pin and nobody understands really with the majority is trying to do. Basicallyerfering make sure they believe the president cant win next year if he is impeached. The focus group impeachment takes words and take them to people and say how can we explain this better because we dont have the facts to match it. A focus group impeachment says we really arent working on good facts that we need a good pr move. What we are here today. A clock and aout calendar. It became evident to me that this was true because last wednesday after we had a long day of hearings here, the next morning before anything else could get started, the speaker of the house walked up to the podium and said go right articles of impeachment. She just stopped. I appreciate that the majority practiced for two days this weekend on this hearing. I appreciate the fact that you have to try and get a right to try and convince the American People, but your speaker has already undercut you. She took the thrill out of the room. You are writing articles of impeachment. Why couldnt we just save that time today and if youre going to, go ahead and write them. There is probably a reason for that because as the chairman laid out some amazing claims, none of which i think have to do with this hearing today, the American People can look at and see there is overwhelming evidence, there is a because as the speaker, another statement she said, to do impeachment you have to be so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan. All of which we are not. So why not . Why are we here . I think we can do this. Lets look at the three things that typically are associated with making your case or a crime. This duty against what the majority has said. I think they have motive, means and opportunity. What is their motive . Its november 2020. Its been said over and over again. The chairman said this morning. Its been said all along. We have to do this because if we dont, he will win again next year. The reason its shown as clearly as last week on the job support in the economy i demand come up to me and say keep doing what you are doing. He said ive never seen an economy this good, he said people are working, people are being taken care of and this is just a fatal distraction on a president they dont like. Motive is easy. November 2016 they lost. Minutes2017 just a few in the Washington Firm but every democrat had been talking about. Nows the time for impeachment. We see tweet after tweet. Its amazing they start with impeachment and then spend two years trying to figure out what do we impeach him on. Became what we see now. The means is to always talk about impeachment and always say this presidency doing something wrong, to say hes illegitimate. That hes not even illegitimate president. A president ear down who is working on behalf of the American People. This sham impeachment, i think the chairman said something, he said the president should not be above the law and should be held accountable for the oath of their office. I think congress ought to be held accountable as well and not to do what we are doing right now and that is run a process that does not fit fairness, to run a process that you are having to force against a president you dont like. What was the opportunity . The opportunity came last november when they got the majority and they began their impeachment run. Of thegan in the process flooding the chairman, the chairman set i will be the best person for impeachment. This is november of last year. Before we had any hearings, before we had they were even sworn into this congress. For anyone, those watching a tv or in this room, for anyone to think this was not a big deal is not being honest with themselves. You see, presumption has now become the standard instead of proof. It should call anyone to begin to question because the entire case is built on a presumption or as we found out last week from three scholars, the inference is ok. If you just inferred that what they mean they will take that. Still an interesting line. It was interesting, they made their whole case on Gordon Sondland for you will see that a lot today. He testified he presumed the aide was connected to an investigation but he said nobody ever told him that. Sondland even asked him directly he said what do you want, i want nothing, i want zelensky to do what he ran on, ukraine did nothing and got the eight anyway. You know how i know this is a problematic experience . Over the past three weeks when the chairman of the Intelligence Committee who is absent today. I guess he cant backup his own report. But he started his own hearing by making up the factual call when he made it up, he started the fairy tale are having today. If you cant even put the transcript in the right , just read it. Chairman shift couldnt even read the transcript, he had to make it up because if he didnt make it up it didnt sound as bad. He said lets make up some dirt, thats not what was said. The transcript, the chairman misled the American People as an attorney, as it chairman, as a member of Congress Sworn oath is to be honest with the American People and uphold the constitution. That was such a massive malpractice ive ever seen because you know why, they dont care about what actually was in the transcript. They dont care what happened and we heard last week from witnesses, they dont even care that the aide was released. They are simple looking and making it fit their narrative. What else happened . This is also the chairman who also said the d c collusion that it was already there before it came out that all this is going to happen. I guess maybe i might need to just not stop commenting on chairmanship and his because i may end up on the next phone records. As we go forward. You see weve taken a dangerous turn in this congress. Subpoenas are fine if properly done and should be done properly, but they should never be at the expense of a political vendetta. Professor turley testified last week the current legal case for impeachment is not just woefully inadequate but in some respects dangerous and the basis for impeachment of an american president. Today what we are supposed to get, i love my friends and the majority of this commi