European union. What does President Trump ask sondland the day after this call . 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 for others to hear, President Trump asked sondland, so hes going to do the investigation . And the answer was clear, sondland assured 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 president cared only about big stuff. The diplomat noted that there was big stuff in ukraine like a war with russia. And sondland replied that the president cared only about big stuff that benefits him personally like the Biden Investigation that mr. Giul
join me in recognizing this grave threat and stand up to this administration in defense of our country and our constitution. with that i yield back the balance of the time. i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from tennessee. going back almost three years to when the president was sworn into office, we seen some members on the other side of the aisle pledging and promising to impeach president trump. prior to the start of this inquiry, speaker pelosi claimed that 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 process has been fast, faulty, and flawed. what we ve witnessed since september 24th when the inquiry was announced is that the evidence we ve seen is not compelling. it s not overwhelming. and the process is undoubtedly and unquestionably not bipartisan. i m viewing this through the
long before the call to the ukraine. then it was the russia collusion hoax, then obstruction of justice, then bribery, then quid pro quo, none of which are included in these articles before us today. the first article of impeachment is not an enumerated basis in the constitution for impeachment. the democratic majority would have you believe that abuse of power is a high crime or misdemeanor. it is not. it is an opinion. it is not even a crime than can be charged in a court of law unlike nixon and clinton who were tried for actual laws. the second article obstruction of congress again doesn t exist in the constitution as a basis for impeachment, and is attempting to impeach a duly elected president for asserting constitutionally-based privileges that have been asserted on a bipartisan basis by administrations of both political parties throughout our nation s history. this house is impeaching a president over a phone call to another world leader. a few lines in a phone transcript that h
anything but open, bipartisan, or equitable, abandoning all paths to historical due process afforded the minority and the president. the democrats ran a partisan investigation refusing the rights and minority, refusing the ability for the president s counsel to call witnesses, to cross-examine fact witnesses and refusing a minority hearing day just to name a few. the majority waves around a report drafted that the democratic staff concocted as a matter of fact. they paraded out liberal professors with animus against the president. 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. gentleman from california. speaker, i am proud to yield one minute to the gentleman from california. when i was 18 years old, i joined the united states navy
intended 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 political theater instead of facts. by any objective standard, the democrats impeachment case is the thinnest imaginable. there s no impeachable offense before us today. it s 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