Not take impeachment lightly. Yet, i am here to do my job as a member of congress. [speaking in foreign language]
and today, i pray for god for his guidance in uniting great nation. And for that, the gentleman from new york, i yield. The gentleman will reap be required to give a translation of your remarks. The gentle mike johnson from new york. Mr. Collins is recognized. I would have to disagree with my chairman. Im not sure what hes been watching but the facts are not undisputed. Not only by the minority but the dash and without a yield. I think you gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, i rise today in opposition to the democrat sham process which makes a mockery of the rules of the house, and its frankly dangerous to the count
country. Since day number one the democrats have made it clear that they wanted to move towards impeachment well before any of the accusations took place. What democrats unfortunately dont recognize is the damage that this will cause for our political institutions, and americas trust for years to come. Every american should be concerned that Speaker Pelosi does not trust our citizens to let them decide who should lead our great country. This Impeachment Process isnt focused on strengthening and protecting our political foundations but rather shaping public opinion. I ask you, is it worth that . Not only is a process alarming but its Wasting Taxpayer Dollars and valuable time that elected officials could be using to move our country forward. That includes securing our borders, addressing student loan debt, bring me down the cost of health care and prescription drugs. I urge all of my colleagues
while considering these articles to ask themselves whether this is truly being done for the good of the country. Thank you mr. Speaker, i yelled back. The Gentleman Yields back. The gentleman from new york, mr. Nadler. I would remind the gentleman that that after recovering millions of dollars in illgotten gains the Mueller Investigation was actually a net plus for the taxpayers. I now recognize the german from colorado for 2 minutes. The gentleman from colorado is recognized. Thank you mr. Speaker and i want to thank Chairman Nadler and Speaker Pelosi for their leadership and moral courage. Today the House Of Representatives is debating whether to take the rare step of voting to impeach a president for only a third time in our countrys history. Unfortunately, President Trump has left us no choice. The fact of the matter is that the president abused the power
of his office and invited a foreign country to interfere in our elections. In so doing, he undermined the sanctity of the free and Fair Elections upon which our republic rests. Making matters worse over the last several months, President Trump and his administration have done everything they can to prevent congress from uncovering the truth. Let us be clear. In our republic, no president has ever obstructed Congress Like this before. During the watergate investigation, as my colleagues well know, president nixons Chief Of Staff testify before cheapo congress. President trumps Chief Of Staff refused. President trumps refused. White house aides close to
president nixon testified. They may have aided and relevant knowledge to this investigation and simply put, its administration has engaged in a wholesale Obstruction Of Congress and thats exactly why we are considering not just one, but two articles of impeachment before the house today. Every member of this body has a responsibility to uphold our constitution, to defend our republic and when necessary to hold the executive branch accountable. And we are exercising that responsibility today. So with that and therefore i will vote yes on both articles because thats what the constitution requires and what it demands and i yelled back. The gentleman from georgia. Mr. Speaker, i would have never thought the department of investigation was used as a Money Revenue Plot but one thing is true, it was a loser. Without i yield to mr. Newhouse, a minute and a half. The gentleman is recognized. Mr. Speaker, the peoples house should be better than this. We should be better than this. During the remarks of the Judiciary Committee, the committees Impeachment Proceedings, he stated it, and i quote, to my republican colleagues, how do you want to be remembered during this watershed moment in our nations history . Well mr. Speaker, it wont be Watching Sports on a laptop during official Judiciary Committee proceedings it wont be using expletives to refer to our president , calling for his impeachment just hours after being sworn into congress. It wont be using the chairmanship of the once respected Intelligence Committee to distort the president s words in order to mislead the American People, and it certainly wont be using the most serious and solemn powers of congress to overturn a legitimate National Election for political
expediency. No, mr. Speaker. My fellow republican colleagues and i wont be remembered in history for doing any of those things because we know this is far too great of a matter for subversion such as these of our democratic republic. We should all be better than this. I yield back. Reserve. Gentleman reserves. Mr. Speaker, may i inquire how much time remains on both sides . Mr. Nadler, you are advised so that you have 156 and threequarter minutes remaining. The gentleman from georgia has 157 minutes remaining. Divide that by 60. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I now yield 2 minutes to the distinguished gentle lady from texas. Our country faces a great tragedy and moment of truth. We have witnessed the president of the United States abused the Public Office for personal political gain and invite Foreign Governments to interfere in our elections, putting the integrity of a government of, for and by the people at great risk. The evidence is overwhelming and clearly shows that President Trump will continue to abuse his office and obstruct congress if left unchecked. The Intelligence Committee conducted a robust investigation into the president s misconduct. Members interviewed 12 witnesses in public hearings, totaling over 30 hours and conducted 17 depositions totaling over 100 hours. Examine the Text Messages and emails, reviewed the president s own words and actions and
published a 300 page report detailing their findings. All of this despite the fact that under the residents direction, 12 current and former Administration Officials refused to testify, ignoring subpoenas and 71 document requests were denied. The Judiciary Committee then reviewed the evidence and concluded that two articles of impeachment which i support were warranted. The evidence shows that President Trump is a Clear And Present Danger to our free and Fair Election and our National Security. The most powerful evidence of this pattern has come from the president himself. In 2016, we heard him when he called on russia to interfere in our elections. He said russia, if you are listening. He then repeated this call for Election Interference on the July 25th Call with the ukrainian president and we heard him again on the white house lawn further adding china to
that mix. I stand ready to protect our sacred republic. Support these articles of impeachment and i pray that my colleagues have the courage to do the same. We must uphold our Oath Of Office and defend the constitution, and our fragile democracy because no one is above the law. I yelled back. Gentle lady yields back. Thank you mr. Speaker, i yield a minute and a half to the gentleman from florida. Thank you for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in 2016 blood and reboot and his cronies waged a War Elections with the goal of Sowing Discord and division in america. Do you think hes been to successfusuccessful . Somewhere, putin is laughing at us today. The majority has given him exactly what he wants, they divided america with a pure partisan politics, with nasty political rhetoric at an
alltime high. Then some already across the aisle are discrediting the results of future elections, already. It seems that Many Americans for the past three years, the past e majority has been carrying out the wishes of the kremlin. The sad part is the democrats are vowed to continue their sham investigations even after todays vote. Impeaching a duly elected president in a purely partisan manner with no crimes to show for it, not one element of a crime to find, disgraces the integrity of our democracy. Nows the time to end the partisan politics, come together and put america first. I urge this body to vote no to partisan impeachment. Gentleman yields back. Gentleman reserves. Mr. Nadler . Mr. Speaker i now yields
2 minutes to the distinguished gentleman from new york, mr. Jeffries. And George Washington in his Farewell Address to the nation counseled america that the constitution is sacredly obligatory upon all. It is in that spirit that we proceed today. Donald trump pressured a Foreign Government to target an american citizen for political gain, and at the same time withheld without justification 391 million in military aid to a vulnerable ukraine as part of a scheme to solicit foreign interference in an american election. That is unacceptable. Thats unconscionable and its unconstitutional. There are some who cynically argue that the impeachment of this president will further divide an on already fractured a union. But there is a difference between division and clarification. Slavery once divided the nation, but emancipators rose up to clarify that all men are created equally. Suffrage at once divided the nation, but women rose up to clarify that all voices must be heard and on democracy. Jim crow once divided the nation but civil rights champions rose up to clarify that all are entitled to equal protection under the law. There is a difference between division and clarification. We will hold this President Accountable for his stunning Abuse Of Power. We will hold this President Accountable for undermining our National Security. We will hold this President Accountable for corrupting our democracy. We will impeach Donald John Trump. We will clarify that in america, no one is above the law. The Gentleman Yields back. Thank you mr. Speaker. I now yield 2 minutes to from california mr. Mcclintock. Mr. Speaker, nullifying a National Election requires an overwhelming case of high crimes supported by indisputable evidence that the vast majority of the nation find compelling. Article one is a made up crime called abuse of rf, office. It does not charge that the president broke any law but the congress does not like the way he lawfully discharged its constitutional duties. This would reduce the presidency to that of a Minister Serving at the pleasure of congress destroying the separation of powers at the heart of our constitution. Article number two is another made up crime called Obstruction Of Congress. It means a president sought to defend his Constitutional Rights and those of his office. It removes the judiciary from our constitution and places congress alone in the position of defining the limits of its
own powers relative to the president. Our bill of rights guarantees every american the right to confront their accuser, to call witnesses in their defense, to be protected from hearsay and to defend these rights in court. The democrats have trampled them all in their stampede to impeach. Even in this kangaroo court, the democrats handpicked witnesses provided no firsthand knowledge that the president leaked aid to action. In fact two witnesses provided firsthand knowledge that he specifically ordered no quid pro quo. Any case that charged no actual crime and offered no legally admissible evidence would be laughed out of court in a heartbeat. Thats the case before us today. It would redefine the grounds for impeachment in such a way that assures it will become a constant presence in our national life. Now we know just how reckless is the democrats chant of resist by
any means necessary. Its a stunning Abuse Of Power and is a shameless travesty of justice that will stain the reputations of those responsible for generations to come. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. Reserve. Mr. Speaker, Abuse Of Power with no vague or weak notion to the framers. It had a very specific meaning. The use of official power to obtain a improper personal benefit while ignoring or entering the National Interest. President trump has abused the office and must be removed. I now yield to minister the distinguished gentleman from tennessee. The gentleman is recognized. Thank you. Mr. Speaker, from our founding the United States has been a special nation, the city upon the hill. Our values are enshrined in our constitution of liberty, equality and opportunity. We are a selfgoverning people where every person is equal before the law. In the United States we dont have a king, if we choose our leaders. We vote. Generations of americans have fought and some have died to secure these inalienable rights. The constitution begins, We The People of the United States. Thats us. Its not we the leaders of russia, ukraine or china. Or we the democrats or with the republicans. Its We The People of the United States. In all americans and only americans have this say in our elections. Donald trump used a highpower of presidency to pressure a foreign nation to besmirch his primary political opponent. He corrupted our elections and compromise our National Security so that he could keep power, not power for the people but power for himself. In 2016 candidate trump called for a foreign interference when he said russia, if you are listening. In 2019 President Trump sought foreign interference. President trump attacked and can is a continuing threat to our system of free and Fair Elections. Like all of you i took an oath to support and defend the constitution. I urge my colleagues to abide by that oath and stand up to President Trumps Abuse Of Power and Obstruction Of Congress. To my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, iap appeal to your patriotism and implore you to defend free elections and preserve the constitution. God save the United States of america. I yield back the balance of my time. The Gentleman Yields back and the gentleman on all members are reminded to address their comments to the chair. The gentleman from georgia. Thank you mr. Speaker. I believe that we should be free and fair but i think impeachment is based on the fact that the speaker who said last month it would be dangerous to leave it to the voters to determine if mr. Trump stays in office. With that i yield to
mr. Jenkins. Gentleman is recognized. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I have descended into the belly of the beast. I have witnessed the terror within and highrise committed to oppose the insidious forces that threaten our republic. America is being severely injured by this betrayal, by this unjust and weaponized impeachment, brought upon us by the same socialist who threatened unborn life in the womb and threaten First Amendment rights of conservatives who threatened Second Amendment protections of every American Patriot and, they long ago determined that they would all guys and conspired to overthrow President Trump. We dont face this part of because the democrats all of a sudden have become constitutionalists. We are not being devoured from within because of some surreal assertion of the socialist, a
newfound love for the very flight that they tried to burn. We face this horror because of this man. This is what the dem