He accused me of of. Yes yes exactly I mean I thought and he's missing in that 6 page letter was a declaration of arrest and suspension of Congress. And that's a good point and also questioning Nancy Pelosi is it that she was crying for him I mean you know nothing is sacred with with Donald Trump nothing it's really even even when you think nothing could be more incredible Then he tweets and he writes letters and he makes statements just shamelessly I never seen anything quite like it Marjorie cons professor emeritus Thomas Jefferson School of Law San Diego former president National Lawyers Guild author of drones and targeted killing legal moral and geo political issues find her writings where she writes frequently homeowner e-mail list Marjorie Cohn dot com Marjorie Cohen we thank you. Thank you both I appreciate it and you're listening to k.p. Live coverage of the house for House debate on 2 articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump before we go back to the House floor I do want to thank everyone who had contributed to k.p. a Face end of the Year fun drive that we wrapped up yesterday at 7 pm we came up about $10000.00 short of our overall goal so almost there and each and every one of you helped get there if you appreciate our coverage of the impeachment process and how k. P.f.a. Informs entertains introduces new ideas and music please make your year end donation AK a p f a o r g your donation you know you're up to a certain point rules change will be want to make may look into it but. Could be tax deductible up till December 31st for a year 2009 teen You're listening to k.p. a Famed Berkeley b. And Berkeley K.F.C.'s in Fresno and online. Argy also 88.14 K.F.C.'s 97.54 k 248 p.r. In Santa Cruz we are going to go back to the House floor for which the debate is occurring right now again 2 hours into the 6 hour debate that has been scheduled about 4 hours from now we are anticipating those debates this is we're about to turn to Jerrold Nadler who is overseeing the democrats'. Portion of the debate and what he does is he makes his little comments and then frequently passes it on and he just introduced. Who is now speaking as we bring the sound up and as we look for the name. Or. Disgraceful day do things that actually matter I yield back the gentleman yells back gentleman from New York. Many speak right now you. Carolina Mr Price nice for one minute. Better Speaker David Price the moment our founders anticipated in establishing the power of impeachment has arrived the evidence is clear President Trump abused his power by asking a vulnerable foreign leader to investigate both his political rival and a baseless Russian conspiracy theory while withholding congressionally appropriated defense aid and a coveted White House visit he then blocked congressional investigation into these abuses these abuses threaten the integrity of our elections they corrupt our diplomacy and they undermine national security we sometimes regard constitutional checks and balances as the indestructible underpinnings of our democracy in fact they're not fixed they're not indestructible the president has demonstrated this beyond all doubt it's up to the Congress the 1st branch of government to apply the remedy that the Constitution for scribes because the threats to our democracy are real and present with this vote we affirm that no one including the president is above the law. Gentleman from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker I yield a minute I have to the gentleman from Kentucky that's come for demonstrating times for a minute half since the beginning of this impeachment inquiry it's been extremely troubling to see the partisan divisive way in which Democrats have carried out this entire process changed. Though they promised they don't see this president since the day he took his oath of office from the start. This is been a baseless attempt to undo the will of 63000000 Americans who voted for President Trump I can tell you the people I represent in Kentucky the very people who voted for this president to enact change and fight for this country are appalled at the charade they've seen in the House in recent months they are appalled at the actions from House Democrats who failed to even come close to proving their case I hope all of my congressional colleagues carefully consider the president they are setting by voting in favor of the sham process and these illegitimate articles of impeachment these articles were written and built on a report that was drafted with biased presumptions cherry picked witnesses and vastly disputed facts the president did not commit any impeachable offense and it's clear for all of us to see through the now a very well known transcript this rig process sets a concerning precedent for impeachable offenses moving forward and I wholeheartedly oppose these baseless articles of impeachment. And I yield back the. Gentleman from New York many speak right now you have one minute to the gentleman from California Mr Peters gentleman is recognized for one minute Thank you Madam Speaker many have lamented that this effort is not bipartisan but on my Republican colleagues Republicans have not sought the truth they have sought to avoid the truth they have demeaned and insulted witnesses Patriots warriors career diplomats diplomats who provided evidence against the president no House Republican has joined us to demand the documents and witnesses that President Trump has refused to produce and Senate Republican leaders this week have announced that President Trump himself can set the rules of his own trial and there will be no fact witnesses Republicans refuse to seek the truth and condemn the abuse of power or to work with us to prevent this ongoing behavior in the future and that's the tragedy of today's events in our nation's history thousands of Americans have gone into battle without reservation to fight for our republic as they still do today many have been gravely injured and some have made the ultimate sacrifice but today in contrast for fear of losing an election my colleagues will not speak up for the rule of law or against presidential abuse of power voters may give them a pass but history will judge them harshly I will vote for the articles of impeachment I yield back to John and from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker it is a privilege out of you to men and I have to the general from Georgia missed a lot of Germans recognize for a minute how. Things in all the water George and friend Mr Collins is Madam Speaker I rise today in opposition not only to these articles of impeachment but in strong opposition to the process that has brought us to this point our Constitution and Bill of Rights are all about process our Founders knew that a government without constraints could accuse anyone of any crime at any time even without compelling evidence that's why the 5th in the 14th Amendment says stablished a bedrock principle of innocent until proven guilty beyond a. Reasonable doubt but on November the 14th Speaker Pelosi informed the press that the president should prove his innocence when she stated Mr President if you have anything that shows your incident innocence then he should make that known the Constitution also a guarantees that the accused can call witnesses to testify on their behalf but the Republicans or the president were continually denied that right throughout this process the 6th Amendment guarantees the right of the defendant to face their accuser but not only have the Democrats prohibited Republicans in the president from questioning the so-called whistleblower his identity has been kept secret before you take this historic vote today one week before Christmas I want you to keep this in mind when Jesus was falsely accused of treason Pontius Pilot gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers during that sham trial punchers pilot afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president and this process I yield back. The gentleman from New York. The president was given the opportunity to come in testify before the Judiciary Committee to send his counsel to question witnesses he declined to do so I now yield one minute to the gentleman from Michigan Mr Kildee killed in Michigan. Thank you Madam Speaker this is this is a sad day for our country and for our democracy the president has abused the powers of his office betrayed the public trust and undermined America's national security by pressuring or a foreign government to interfere in our elections for his own political gain. In this moment in our history the Constitution is clear the remedy for such misconduct for by a president is impeachment I didn't come here to Congress to impeach a president of the United States but sadly the president's misconduct leaves us no choice but to follow the Constitution I have 2 grandchildren I get my granddaughter Caitlin is 8 and my grandson Collin is 4 someday a long time from now they'll ask me about this day they'll ask about the time the president put himself above the law and they'll want to know what I did to stop him and I will have an answer for them. Today I vote to uphold the Constitution I will vote to impeach Donald Trump I yield back the gentleman from Georgia. Thank you Madam Speaker it is interesting that the present was supposedly given rise the juicer committee but maybe who would have asked questions of 3 law professors and a staff member not a lot of the process there with this I owe them in half the gentleman from Texas chairman's recognize from a minute half Madam Speaker we are here today because House Democrats have spent upwards of 30000000 dollars and 3 years trying to overturn the 2016 election of President Trump and come up with nothing Brian Bay because of their radical x. Wing Democrats are willing to make all future presidential elections invalid until judged worthy by the majority in the House of Representatives the president of the United States does not serve at the pleasure of the House of Representatives perhaps the greatest denial of reality regarding President Trump is acknowledging that under his policies things are actually going much better than they have in decades for working Americans we are a democratic constitutional republic in which power flows from We the People to our president and elected officials the Democrat majority thinks otherwise they believe that they are entitled to rule us even if they have to change the rules to invalidate the will in the votes of the people of America and that is why the absence of a case does not matter in this charade of impeachment and I believe that the American people recognize and share my urgency about what is its stake here Madam Speaker you and your majority may decide today but I have faith that the American people will decide otherwise next November thank you and I yield back and announce fact gentleman from New York and it's be going now you one minute to the gentle lady from Washington is that of any. News for one minute Democrat Washington. Thank you Madam Speaker I rise today in support of this resolution after carefully reviewing all of the evidence and the articles of impeachment before us it is clear that President Trump abused the power of the presidency and obstructed Congress I did not come to this conclusion lightly impeachment is an extremely serious matter but no president can be allowed to pressure a foreign country for personal and political gain no president is above the law his behavior has jeopardized the integrity of our elections put our national security at risk and placed his personal interests above those of the American people his obstruction has prevented the house from conducting its constitutional duty to of oversight of the executive branch by failing to uphold his oath of office President Trump forces each of us as members of the House of Representatives to up hold ours I urge my colleagues to do just that and defend our democracy I yield back the gentleman from Georgia thank you Ms madam speaker at this time of year the minute after the gentleman from Virginia was written chose to recognize for a minute and a half Thank you Madam Speaker representative dead or the management of public the articles of impeachment I represent the 5th district of Virginia which is just so many founding fathers whose vision shaped the great country we are living in today Thomas Jefferson and James Madison are not around to see what their creation has become but I don't think they would be pleased to see Congress subverting the will of democracy by holding an impeachment vote because the majority party simply cannot accept the 2016 election. And said of wasting the taxpayers' time and money on specious investigations we could have passed legislation to address surprise medical billing secure the border address the opioid epidemic reduce student debt and solve a litany of other issues that Americans actually care about tomorrow we might have a vote on the u.s. M.c.a. Which we should have passed months ago had it not been for the obstruction and delays from Democrats delays that are made farmers in my district and other districts suffer votes like the one we will take today the decisions that have led up to today's vote the nature and entire process of this proceeding reeks of careers bureaucrats and politicians that put politics over people I was not elected to take political votes that attempt to overturn the will of the American people I ran for office to serve my constituents let's remember that's why we are here weaponize emotion is not the way to serve the United States of America and to my colleagues to do just that I offer a quote Thomas Payne wrote in a crisis to argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead thank you and I yield back the balance of my time gentleman yells back gentleman from New York this is big man a speaker I would remind the gentlemen that the House has passed over. Democrat $275.00 bipartisan bills driving down costs of health care in prescription drugs raising wages rebuilding infrastructure taking on corruption and self dealing in Washington 80 percent of these bills are languishing on Senator McConnell's desk I now yield one minute to the gentle lady from Ohio Ms Kaptur. Marcy Kaptur Democratic chairman for yielding on which to place on the record that members of Congress swear a sound most to protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic and today we fulfill our oath by defending liberty the central figure. Testing America's resolve is not here in Washington today rather the closeted villain sits in mascot with the Kremlin Vladimir Putin has coordinated murders election acking propaganda the entrapment of willing fools and greedy underlings to put their own selfish interests over Liberty Putin seeks to sow disarray in destabilize democracies and the NATO alliance at Putin's direction Russia illegally invaded Ukraine in 2014 and has Ukraine defends Europe's eastern flank 14000 people have been killed at Putin's hand with over 2000000 displaced residents stand up to Putin President Trump and his minions aided Putin 1st in hastening Russian interference in our 2016 elections and then more recently withholding vital military aid from Ukraine to coordinate interference in our 2020 elections Mr Trump's personal gain time to expire might I end by saying on word liberty vote for the articles of impeachment gentleman from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker this time I yield a minute and a half to the general for North Carolina Baltimore for. Bettin Speaker I rise in opposition to these baseless articles of impeachment and the unprecedented process that's been used in this effort to impeach the duly elected president of the United States it is a mockery of American justice in $178081.00 of our founding fathers Alexander Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers in many cases impeachment will connect itself with the preexisting factions and in such cases there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more than the comparable strength of parties majority and minority and then by real demonstrations of innocence or guilt what does this mean it means that the majority can exert its influence regardless of justice in this statement Hamilton warned us about the danger of mob rule Democrats have a criminal and have been searching for a crime for 3 years but this president has not committed a crime as a leader and to marry a foreigner follow the president has a constitutional obligation to root out corruption in countries to which we provide aid this is not an abuse of power it is his job one of the articles is obstruction of Congress the only thing that's been instructed is this president's right to due process I don't blame the president for refusing to fully participate in this guilty until proven innocent circus this is not how our founding fathers framed American justice this is a tragic day in our nation's history we have individuals that hate this president more than they love this country our country needs prayer and not this destructive partisanship Thank you I yield back tears are from New York. Madam Speaker the president's obstruction is unprecedented and categorical President Trump claims that the House cannot investigate his misconduct outside of an impeachment inquiry he defies lawful congressional subpoenas then and then he sues to block 3rd party things such to giving her a bottle even as he pursues his own interests in court his administration simultaneously argues that Congress is barred from obtaining judicial Foresman when executive branch officials disregarded subpoenas so when can the president be held accountable for his for his wrongdoing in his mind never in the Constitution however disagrees I now yield one minute to the general 80 from the District of Columbia Ms Holmes Norton general ladies recognized for one minute. Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton she's delicate from. The district of Madam Speaker my words on my only remedy today in spite of the upcoming d.c. Statehood vote we expect to be successful the people of the District of Columbia have no vote on impeachment or on any other matter on this floor now I spoke on this floor on the impeachment of President Clinton 20 years ago unlike the Clinton impeachment on perjury concerning an affair with and in turn from some Pietschmann turns on sabotage of national security to get himself reelected Clinton repented Trump insists that he did nothing wrong that's a promise to continue his long pattern of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress impeachment is our only recourse I yield back general ideas back gentleman from Georgia thank you madam speaker at this time I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from Colorado member of the Jewish Committee Mr a gentleman is recognized for 2 minutes thank you Madam Speaker I thank the gentleman from Georgia today 7 that's in the bar Republican in Colorado under the standard a president can be impeached in the absence of a crime without due process and for certain a legally constitutionally recognized privilege history shows Democrat presidents have abused power to undermine democracy and win elections and yet they have not been impeached President Franklin Roosevelt used the i.r.s. To target his political opponents his son later admitted f.d.r. Used quote the i.r.s. As a weapon of political retribution president John f. Kennedy used the f.b.i. To wiretap and monitor political opponents including congressional staff he deported one of his mistresses to avoid scandal. President Lyndon Johnson spied on Goldwater's campaign signing off on wiretapping his opponent and Goldwater's airplane and using a CIA spy to obtain advanced copies of Goldwater's strategies and speeches President Barack Obama refused to provide documents to Congress related to Fast and Furious his unconstitutional recess appointments were unanimously struck down by the Supreme Court he used national security agencies to lie to the American people about Benghazi to win the 2012 election he spied on reporters finally it was the Obama administration that committed 17 serious violations before the fires a court to spy on Trump campaign associates despite these clear abuses of power by f.d.r. J.f.k. L.b.j. And Obama Republicans did not impeach why because the framers did not want a low bar for impeachment they wanted Congress and the president to work out their differences when I asked Professor Turley and you to Sherry committee hearing if any president can void impeachment with those low standard he said no I yield back . Gentleman from New York and speak out your mind the gentlemen the President Obama the vital thousands of pages of information because the Russians are a master that they have the credit Tony General Holder and others testified unlike . Now I know you're old. One minute to the gentle to the generally from Illinois Ms Kelly gentle is representative of Robin Kelly Democrat Illinois. Madam Speaker today is a solemn day in America a day that none of us hoped for when we came to Congress but the events of today are something that each of us swore that we were prepared to execute and defense of the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic this is the oath that binds the men and women of the $116.00 Congress as out of democracy implore as we defend her a clear and present threat to American democracy it's what brings us here the architect a president who asked that a foreign nation interfere in our election this was our founding fathers the greatest fear I cast the sound vote for the many individuals in my district who and trusted me to be their voice in Congress they entrusted me to uphold our constitution for them I vote yes for Sarah and Chicago dug in Kankakee Diane and flossed more yes Kathy a momentous Katherine in Crete and Jimmy in Park Forest the facts a simple The path forward is clear impeachment is not an option it is an obligation because no one is above the law that gentleman from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker this time it is my privilege shield to manage the gentleman from Pennsylvania another member of the juicer committee Mr actionable gentlemen stretches for 2 minutes thank you Madam Speaker and thank you ranking member Russian following the need public in Pennsylvania Bloss Bottom line up front while you do the bottom line Democrats are terrified the President Trump is going to win reelection they can't beat him on the merits so the Democrats are caving to their far left radical base and they're using the thoughts and feelings and the assumptions of some unnamed bureaucrats rather than relying on facts and law to impeach a duly elected president. Let me be clear this is nothing more than a political hit job you know I've been on all sides of the courtroom I was a prosecutor in the Navy I was a defense attorney in the Navy I was a district judge in my hometown and let me tell you as a lawyer I would defend this case every day of the week as a judge I would dismiss this on day one for lack of merit there is no prime aphasia case here. I'll tell you who I'd prosecute. Our prosecute Adam Schaeffer abuse of power why how about the fact that he used his position as chairman to leak phone records of ranking member Devan Yes How did the fact that he dumped over 8000 pages of documents on Republicans less than 48 hours before a hearing that is the abuse of power and obstruction I prosecute the Democrats for obstruction How about the fact that judiciary Democrats voted down my request to subpoena the whistleblower about the fact that Chairman Adler refused every single Republican request for a fact witness that is obstruction of Congress so again let me be clear today is nothing more than a political hit job thank you and your back and a 1000000 Specter. Are alluding to with the phone records. May have been trying to get everyone to government to dig up dirt on Joe and Hunter by. The president's conduct I know you had one minute to distinguish gentleman from Virginia Mr Connelly chairman's recognize for one minute madam speaker each of us here took an oath to protect and defend Representative Gerald Connelly Democrat. And not our political party today history will judge did we have died out. To extort a foreign country to investigate your political opponent is an unconstitutional abuse of power to solicit foreign interference in an American election isn't unconstitutional because of. The need to protect against just such abuses prompted our founders to grant the sole power of a beach been to this house the delicate balance of power that underpins our democracy is threatened when a president disregards the Constitution by obstructing Congress's power to cover up illegal behavior and doing that President Trump violated his oath today we must put country of a party conscience over complicity today we must assert no one's above the law today we're summoned by history to do the right thing I yield back General for in charge I thank you Madam Speaker I really I know this is probably not true but I think the speakers are not working on the majority side because I have talked about it many of our members of talk about the fact this is go real quickly no pressure no conditionality no. It nothing was ever deny them and when they got through they actually got their money they never did have to talk about the fact that's a distraction that doesn't need to happen with Atmos Madam Speaker I yield a minute and a half to the general from Ohio Mr Davidson demonstration nice for a minute half. Representative. Republic they didn't run for Congress to impeach the president. Well maybe not originally but unfortunately from the moment proceedings begin after the 4th vote to launch an impeachment inquiry today's vote was inevitable many of them campaigned on it I love this country with a soldier's passion I came here to defend freedom not to deny due process to anyone I came here to solve problems and change the broken status quo not to distract or disrupt those like President Donald Trump who deliver on promises to put America back on the path of peace and prosperity that has made and kept our country free for months now Americans have heard speculation about the president's motives in Ukraine despite months of effort dozens of hearings and countless documents Americans have not seen proof that the president committed a high crime or a misdemeanor we have a republic if we can keep it this is disgraceful dishonest process it's a discredit to this body into our nation I urge the House to drop these divisive articles of impeachment and get to work for the American people I yield. Back and I'm in from New York. And as Speaker how much time would you tell me how much time both sides have left please after your Has to our sin to minutes. General from Georgia has 2 hours and 3 minutes. One minute to the generally from New York Mr Glascock is Chile's president Alaskans . The facts are clear the president of the United States withheld $400000000.00 in military aid to an ally of the United States and also held back a White House meeting to compel a foreign nation to investigate his political opponent at the exact time the president was doing this Ukraine one thing gage in a battle for its very existence with one of America's adversaries Russia the president abused his power to perswade a foreign nation to dig up there on a political opponent and that's the truth this was quite simply a geopolitical shakedown the press and then try to block Congress from exercising is constitutionally mandated duty covered the truth every single one of us today faces stark choice if we choose to turn a blind eye to put political expediency before the Constitution then we are complicit in this sort of burst of democracy if we do not hold these press in accountable we have failed the people who sent us here we have asked why are gated our own oath to defend the Constitution in the United showing of Americans are no one is above the law not even the right thank you Madam Speaker this time it's my pleasure Neal 2 minutes from the gentleman from Alabama Mr Burns gentleman has been there at least current Republican Alabama speaker in 3 months we've gone from receiving an unsubstantiated hearsay and discredited Borkum ploy to the production of articles. Impeachment against the president of the United States not since Andrew Johnson has a house in gauging such a partisan political stunt from the beginning this has been a sham and this house has been nothing but a star chamber the Democrat majority literally locked themselves in the basement of this building hiding from the American people when my colleagues and I refused to stand for it Democrats moved to public hearings but denied us questions denied us witnesses and denied the president any meaningful opportunity to defend himself with his complete abuse of process the Democratic majority has produced the flimsiest and most legally unsound articles of impeachment in the history of this nation never before has the house reported an article of impeachment that does not allege an underlying crime yet this majority will do so today read the transcripts there was no quid pro quo no bribery no it's torsion no crime and no abuse of power and they don't even alleged crime in the articles of impeachment the president raised in Ukraine in corruption is not an impeachable offense if the dailies of 100 died were so above board you would think the majority would be just fine looking into this matter yet they have moved my resolution asking for an investigation and are subpoenas for Hunter and have all been denied 100 by and done get a pass because his dad was vice president I am proud to have fought against the charade every step of the way and I will proudly vote no today and I yield back gentlemen yes back gentleman from New York. Now you had one minute to generally from Wisconsin is more gentle. And more Democrat Wisconsin Madam Speaker the facts are uncontestable the evidence is overwhelming the president grossly misused the office of president and obstructed Congress and justice requires this impeachment I feel compelled to respond to the false narrative the Democrats are using this process to overturn an election you know I agree elections are the appropriate venue for public policy disputes However we're not talking about a public policy dispute we're talking about a president who subverted national security by soliciting for interference in our elections the execs playing our founding fathers feared and the exact circumstance for which they drafted the future because our democracy our Constitution deserves standing up for that Donald Trump and I will leave my colleagues with this last thought if they decide how to cast this is stored vote for what shall it profit a man to gain the homeworld only to lose his own soul I yield back the ideals back gentleman from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker this time I have to the gentleman from Texas Mr challenge recognize her mentor have. Thank you Madam Speaker this is the day the founding fathers fear when they granted Congress the power of impeachment where we have a political party so dead set against the president that they will do anything to impeach him and they're about to get away with it simply because they have the votes but that's not how this process is supposed to work if a nonevent plans dictated by a Republican heart attack is already nor is it meant to be used when election is just around the corner and no one understands that better than our speaker who I have great respect for and I agree with the comment she made on March the 6th of just this year impeachment is so divisive to the country that unless there's something so compelling and overwhelming and bipartisan I don't think we should go down that path because it divides the nation and that's exactly what's happened and when we walk out of here tonight we all know how this result is going to go the Democrats are voting for this not one Republican is breaking this is not bipartisan the American people are disgusted with the United States House of Representatives and we bring shame upon this body today by moving forward this impeachment you'll back so many us backed gentlemen from New York. Now you had one move to the gentleman from California Mr Low info gentleman the president is low in the Democratic California the facts in this case are as simple as they are tragic witness after witness attested to these facts no one has credibly refuted them President Trump tried to coerce Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 elections he used the power of his office for personal political gain by withholding aid to Ukraine the president has endangered our ally Ukraine and undermine our own national security and when he got caught the president in attempted to cover up the crime and shut down any investigation by obstructing Congress. We have overwhelming evidence that this president poses an urgent threat to our elections to our national security and to the rule of law Congress must vote to impeach him to protect our constitutional republic there is no alternative thank you and I yield back then were from Georgia thank you Madam Speaker the only urgent threat to this body is the clock in the calendar in the desire to impeach the president before we go home for Christmas without a minute and a half to the general from Tennessee the Mr Rove and Representative Phil Roe Republican of Tennessee he's a sad day in the people's house since dollars from prison lect in 2016 Democrats have been on a crusade to stop him by any means I believe the American people the fairest people on this earth they believe that everyone should be treated equally under the law in the matter what your station you occupy in life rich poor president factory worker fair this process has been anything but fair for 2 years we've been told that then candidate Donald Trump colluded with Russians to interfere with our elections 2 years millions of dollars spent on the Mall investigation no collusion You'd think after being Vattenfall Democrats would finally decide to work on the problems that the American people sent us here to do you'd be wrong again then we were told that the president withheld money to the Ukrainians in a quid pro quo no no of bribery no abuse of power I guess whatever polls bassed to gather information on the political rival potential Rob Well here are some facts about what happened fact number one the transcript of July 25th phone conversation and present release shows no pressure Fact number 2 presidents Lansky did not know the money was withheld fact number 3 no investigation occurred or was announced fact number for the money was released September 11th 2019 facts are stubborn things one bit more on the other side of the aisle said quote I'm concerned that if we don't impeach this president he will get real. Acted in quote that Madam Speaker says it all I yield back gentlemen is fact a gentleman from New York. It is now you one minute to the gentle lady from Aragon is but to me chief gentle lady. Democrat seriously my oath to uphold and defend the Constitution and I do not take today's proceedings lightly the founding fathers included the impeachment process and the Constitution to uphold our values and to maintain the checks and balances that are essential to separation of powers and to democracy they knew way back in 1787 that a president could have used the power of the office in fact they adopted the phrase high crimes and misdemeanors from a phrase that had been used in the English Parliament since 1386 intended to cover situations where an official abused his power and included disobeying an order from the parliament Donald Trump has abused the power of his office by inviting a foreign government to interfere in the Us election and he did this not to help the United States but to benefit himself that's wrong and it's an impeachable offense and then when Congress exercised our constitutional duty to investigate these wrongdoings he obstructed the investigation every step of the way that is also wrong and it's also an impeachable offense in our country no one is above the law that includes the president of the United States and I yield back the balance of the gentleman from Georgia thank you madam speaker at this point to yield a minute I have to the gentleman from Pennsylvania Mr Kelly gentleman to recognize from Representative I think Kelly Republican Pennsylvania such a great month that there's so many great dates in December we talk about the wonderful things that have happened to December's the past there's also in addition to Christmas being something we celebrate the Boston tea party took place in December but also on December 7th 1941 a horrific act happened in the United States and it's one that President Roosevelt said this is a date that will live in infamy. Today December the 18th 2019 is another date that will live in infamy when just because you hate the president of the United States and you can find no other reason other than the fact that you're so blinded by your hate that you can't see straight that you've decided the only way we can make sure this president doesn't get elected again is to impeach him on the floor of the people's house the bastion of democracy and liberty in the whole world we have decided the political power is far more important Porton the principle I would urge all members of the House to vote no on impeachment and to look their voters in the eye and remember this and let me tell you the voters will remember next November what you're doing this December this is a terrible time this is a date that will live in infamy I thank you Mr Speaker and I yield back. General members are reminded you are listening to k p f a special coverage of the live in Pietschmann vote taking place on the House of Representatives floor right now each side has 3 hours apiece to make their case for or against impeachment we've got about 4 hours left of testimony give or take we'll be pulling out from time to time for commentary and analysis this is one of those times we are joined on the phone by Karen Greenberg the director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law and author of several books her latest reimagining the national security state liberalism the bring Good morning Karen. Good morning thank you so much for joining us. Your pleasure to hear sort of. Your initial thoughts to what we're hearing and seeing today on the House floor you know you know actually there's there's not that much that's unexpected We are hearing the same thing over and over again what we what the I think the most frustrating part of what we're hearing is we've heard in the past as well as the Republicans saying you know there wasn't enough time evidence wasn't presented that could have been presented when in fact the reason the evidence witnesses and documents weren't presented was that the White House and Donald Trump was for being presented and so it's such an odd kernel to have at the center of this where you're getting accused of something that actually the accusers are guilty of and so I think that is the thread that runs through it that is it really makes you wonder just how. Dissatisfying this entire conversation is and it just keeps coming up over and over again as one of the baby take away. Karen Greenberg I want to talk to you about something in this is Mitch shows or it's who's also here in the studio . And good morning to you or good afternoon now. I want to talk to you about something that's actually not being talked about today but is somewhat tangential to the whole impeachment issue concerning Donald Trump and that is sort of these dueling investigations and it's pretty remarkable moment in history right now if you think about what's happening you have the House going after the president but you also have the president and the attorney general in a special investigation by John Durham also looking into the f.b.i. And you have the Senate Judiciary Committee looking into other different things in its in its almost feeling like we're having a weaponization of government of using government processes against other parts of the government that's occurring right now have ever you ever witnessed something like this before remember now they had this before with Ike I don't and I it's funny that you have a question that was kind of looking back over other you know historical impeachment debate just to or see if there is anything that resonates it to Mike and I are so glad you raised that it sort of like. RB You know a bad thing extra forces right so you have that would pretty thing that's going on in front of us you have these other proceedings going on well although preparation or if would report comes out one way we're going to have another report coming out another way as if there is no end to this and I think that the real problem is there a legitimate decision to be made is it wanted Specter general which we heard Michael or with what if the Durham report contradicts right we don't know what's going to be in the Durham report and although there's been you know Durham made us go down one road we've been brought back the other way by other look into it that wait till you see that your report I think it's going to contradict Michael her with this report so in a way. It's a way of undermining the fact that there is such a thing as a conclusive. Decision after a series of facts and I find it very unsettling because without that what kind of would you have with the well any profit have it's interesting because oftentimes we compare this moment in time in history to perhaps 850 s. Obviously another very divisive moment the decade before the Civil War And while I don't anticipate an actual physical civil war in the United States in the next few years it does seem like we are almost seeing a civil war within the government itself. Yet we're with the war within the government we're at war with understanding how our government functions and which determinations to prioritize war or with what the procedures are so you're right it's not just a war of etiology a war perspective a war of the facts but it's actually a war over what are the Becket is a government that we trust and I think that therefore the precedent you know the the pre Civil War very much comes to mind I think at this more if I were going to take it back to historical period in a very bizarre way we're having you know you keep seeing the word constitutional crisis which is could define the whole thing so I don't I never like the what are we going to be in a constitutional crisis really what's happening right now is we're having a discussion about how do we think about the Constitution that should govern and I think you know in a way we're having our own rethinking of the Constitutional Convention when it comes to not just an Pietschmann when it comes to presidential powers and I I find that one of the more fascinating and I think eventually could be constructive parts of what we're witnessing stuck a little more about the Michael Horowitz report Michael Horowitz is the inspector general who is investigating the wiretapping the Pfizer wiretapping which comes from the 1970 s. Law for Intelligence Surveillance Act law to put a wiretap on Carter Page who is working with the Trump campaign in 2016 and in his report and this is part of the basis for those who say this entire investigation into Trump over the 2016 is late illegitimate because it was what detractors would call an illegal wiretapping that had occurred Michael Horowitz did not go that far but he said there were many errors and oversight and just overall sloppiness in rip. Hoarding information about Carter page and he was very critical of how the process went however he also said he didn't believe that there was it was because of political bias and he also thought the investigation into the 2016 election was warranted John Durham is the one who was picked by Attorney General William Barr to conduct an independent investigation. Outside of what Horowitz is doing and remarkably Now John Durham is considered to be a pretty credible individual yet he took the unprecedented moment move when Michael Horowitz came out with this report to criticize and say he disagreed with Michael Horwitz his conclusion what were your thoughts about that. I have many 1st is that and I want to just add a 3rd factor what you said in the Go back to all of that which is that a lot of this criticism has been on the part of you know how dare you use the 5 this way as if Trump as a larger figure being looked at you know that these other investigations are going Chile a vat was being mistreated by the Pfizer process so I want to say if you think about Pfizer the Pfizer process which is stablished to be able to get surveillance on people who are suspected of being an agent of a foreign power was brought in after 911 and it was considerably broadened and in some ways there were a number of programs that were dogs secretly and and and eventually a few of those programs became a law in a do 5 Act of 2008 and one that was again voted for and get renewed under President Obama the fact is that Pfizer always has been something that's bade many individuals who are observing law enforcement a little tip to say the least on. Happy about how it's used there has in the past well before this century been worries about just what not the motivation so much but to some extent sloppiness to another kind of overreaching using the Pfizer process in a way that is broader than is meant to be so this is not a new conversation it has been there almost since by the started it got intensified after $911.00 because of this broadened and vaguer use of Pfizer to be able to surveil people who in a strict reading of the law would not have been surveil and so what's odd now is that you have this this. Reading of 5 as something that has to be much more carefully monitored and studied and the time rejected being echoed by this administration and so it's kind of confusing the dialogue that's on 5 on the Durham investigation it is a fact that Durham is a well respected prosecutor it is also a fact that Durham was the prosecutor that was picked by the attorney general last attorney general under Bush and the attorney general under Obama Eric Holder to conduct investigations into torture into the destruction of the tapes by the CIA of torture at black sites around the world of terrorism detainees and also of the underlying. The underlying activity naming namely the use of these enhanced interrogation techniques among detainees both those reports were essentially cabled durum turn them in saying that there was no need to go any further in the investigations and Holder accepted that so. Durham is used to being and working in a highly politicized atmosphere but what it actually what we actually know about him and how he thinks about the process these government we really don't know because those reports were his basic conclusion was let's not go forward with that so. Both of these things both the Pfizer argument and who do are is have these are not new players in the game these are not due argument and their d.n.a. Coming to the fore right now in a way that has to do with us the president what is he able to do and I find it kind of that's a new thing these 2 areas of time the post $911.00 era and the crisis of the Trump presidency are overlapping in terms of issues that are being adjudicated it is fascinating Karen Greenberg has been our guest she is the director of the Center on National Security at Fordham University School of Law and author of the book Reimagining National Security State Karen Greenberg We thank you. Thank you so much you're listening to k.p. F.A.'s live coverage of the impeachment vote taking place on the House floor today we will be dipping in and out of the coverage to bring you guests and analysis we are now joined by my congresswoman Representative Barbara Lee Democrat 13th District of California Good afternoon Representative Lee Hi Good afternoon and thank you so much for joining us glad to be with you. Presumably your consummately your just your overall feelings thoughts in this particular moment as the House moves towards the impeachment vote after this long sort of excruciating frost of the last 10 weeks where you know as I said on the floor this morning I'm really sad but I'm not shocked at how. We've come to this place with. You know the man in the White House President Trump. I was here during the Watergate hearings and yeah and install actually the helicopter take off from the White House. Which took Richard Nixon and his family you know when they left. You know that was a tragic sad day also and I was here also when President Clinton was in Greece so this is my 3rd time actually. Witness in a moment such as this even though. You know Nixon left and resigned and when you look at the pattern of the obstruction of Congress when you look at how he violated our system of checks and balances separation of powers when you look at how he has not even considered the rule of law I mean as I said earlier the when I you know as raise my children I told them that there are consequences if you. Break the law and I'm extremely worried today about what children are thinking. About the commander in chief. Line and breaking the law that's not a message we want to send our kids so today. Is a day that none of us wanted to see come. But I have voted for impeachment now at least 3 times. Because you know what you know right hand. Trump didn't leave us any choice but to act persimmon to the point of consequences right when you break the law you face consequences it's true for all of us right in society but even if the House impeaches we're fairly certain that the Senate will never convict Where do you see the consequences for this actually landing on Donald Trump. Well 1st of all as a member of the house we have to do our job and live up to our constitutional responsibility history is watching us and for us not to do this because the Senate may or may not move would be an abdication of our responsibility Ok I so I hope the g.o.p. Colleagues of course will follow the Constitution the rule of law and you know act accordingly but they've made it clear that they care more about party than country but I have to say that this is now up to the public also to weigh in and to hold their members of the Senate accountable once the House sends these articles to the Senate and we just can't leave it up to the senators and Mitch McConnell to just. You know move forward in a way that where they're coordinating with what Donald Trump in terms of the continuation of the obstruction of justice and the public have to weigh in and they have to say to the senators each and every senator Democrat or Republican that they're going to hold them accountable at the polls if they don't do the right thing. We have to move forward in the house though. And doing our job there isn't Barbara Lee one of your colleagues green of Houston just took to the House floor and he brought a big poster with him and it was with that iconic photo of a child crying as his mother is or her mother was being arrested by the Border Police. Green has argued in I know he wasn't alone there are many others who feel this way now her I sure you hear from constituents who feel this way as well that they wish the Articles of Impeachment were broader that went beyond just the issue of Ukraine which at the heart of it includes issues around military aid to other countries but that they wish that the separation of children from families at the border was a part of this that going across around the appropriations process that Congress controls to build the border wall was a part of this mall humans clause and yet other than Al Green I have yet to see really anyone on the floor today talk about these other potential issues that Donald Trump could be impeached for looks like and see Pelosi is playing you know. The caucus right behind her and keeping it on Ukraine what are your thoughts about this sure I would like to see them broaden myself but I know we never get to today if they were.