Appointing and Authorizing Managers for Impeachment Trial of Donald John Trump, President of the United States
Floor Speech
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 767, I call up the resolution (H. Res. 798) appointing and authorizing managers for the impeachment trial of Donald John Trump, President of the United States, and ask for its immediate consideration.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
Madam Speaker, the resolution before us today appoints managers to prosecute the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump.
This trial is necessary because President Trump gravely abused the power of his office when he strong-armed a foreign government to announce investigations into his domestic political rival. He betrayed our country when he used powers of his office, including withholding vital U.S. military assistance, to pressure that government to help him win reelection.
He invited foreign interference into our elections again. He jeopardized our national security. He did all of this for his personal political gain.
And then he violated the Constitution by stonewalling Congress' efforts to investigate, ordering an absolute blockade of evidence. Despite that, the House was able to uncover powerful evidence that demonstrates, beyond a doubt, the President's betrayal and violations of the Constitution.
But we still have not heard the whole truth because the President has refused to allow a single document to be turned over to the House in response to our impeachment subpoenas, and he has prevented us from hearing key witnesses as well. This is unprecedented.
Our Speaker has led our fight to a fair trial in the Senate. Above all, a fair trial must include additional documents and all relevant witnesses.
The American people have common sense. They know that any trial that does not allow witnesses is not a trial; it is a coverup.
The Speaker's insistence on this point has gotten results. Just yesterday, we received critical new evidence from the President's former associate, Lev Parnas, that further proves Mr. Trump's scheme to pressure Ukraine to go after his personal political opponents.
New witness testimony has become available as well, including John Bolton's announcement that he would honor a Senate subpoena.
Under today's resolution, the managers also have broad authority to submit to the Senate any additional evidence the House may acquire on its own, and we will do so.
The Senate is on trial. We will see whether they conduct a fair trial and allow the witnesses or conduct a coverup. Today's resolution is the next step in this serious and solemn constitutional process. I urge my colleagues to vote ``yes'' on the resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the gentleman from California (Mr. Schiff), the distinguished chairman of the Intelligence Committee.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield myself 1 minute.
Madam Speaker, two points.
First, my colleagues in the minority would rather talk about anything than try to defend what President Trump actually did, because they can't.
There is overwhelming evidence that the President pressured the Ukrainian Government to interfere in our election on his behalf then he covered it up. These are high crimes and misdemeanors, and we will prove that in the Senate.
Second, our minority colleagues don't like our ongoing fight for a fair trial because it got results. New documents and additional witnesses have emerged that unmistakably point to the President's guilt, and we have exposed the efforts of some in the Senate majority to put on a sham trial.
The American people understand that a trial without evidence, without witnesses is no trial at all but a coverup, and that will not stand. We must protect the Constitution and the integrity of our elections. That is what this is about. We must remove this President to protect our country.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I am ready to close.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I have one more speaker, and she will close.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, again, no defense.
Madam Speaker, I yield 1 minute to the distinguished gentlewoman from California (Ms. Pelosi), the Speaker of the House.
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Mr. NADLER. Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. JOHN W. ROSE of Tennessee. Madam Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this partisan impeachment spectacle that seeks to accomplish what President Trump's opponents failed to do at the ballot box in 2016. The bedrock of this country is our Constitution. Article II of the United States Constitution grants our President the necessary authority to deal with other nations and their leaders.
This President was lawfully elected by the American people. When President Trump was sworn into office, he assumed the role of our nation's Commander in Chief. And, as Commander in Chief, he has done absolutely nothing illegal. The impeachment vote today is a sad continuation of the partisan political efforts to undercut President Trump since he was elected in 2016, if not before.
The House majority has wrongly denied President Trump the fair process that was afforded to President Clinton and President Nixon at every stage of their investigations. I am also profoundly disappointed that the House Judiciary Committee refused to hold a minority day hearing in compliance with Clause 2(j)(1) of Rule XI of the Rules of the House, which the Democratic Majority earlier voted to approve.
It should also greatly concern all Americans that co-equal subpoena authority was not granted to the minority during this hyper-partisan process. Co-equal subpoena authority for both the minority and majority has been the backbone of past impeachment investigations. My bill, House Resolution 667, would have granted this co-equal subpoena authority to the minority and majority, and l am disappointed that the Speaker never let it be considered by the House.
House Democrats said that it was critical to move forward in an historically fast, hasty manner. Yet, after passing both Articles of Impeachment on December 18, 2019, their sense of urgency died. The House Democratic Majority has waited nearly a month to transmit the ``urgent'' Articles of Impeachment to the Senate. This change in tone only underscores what Tennesseans knew all along: this is a partisan stunt, motivated purely by political reasons, that mocks our Founding Fathers' great caution in undertaking decisions of this magnitude and the safeguards they designed for our Republic.
It is shameful that the majority has waited nearly a month to bring House Resolution 798 up for a vote. I am deeply alarmed that this delay by House Democrats was a thinly veiled power grab. Our Founding Fathers envisioned this scenario during the dawn of our Republic: one chamber of Congress trying to control the other. In our Founders' wisdom, a system of checks and balances was put into place to prevent the coup d'etat that House Democrats attempted. Because of these safeguards, House Democrats ultimately failed. I applaud the Senators from both sides of the aisle who stood against this grave injustice and demanded that the House send over the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate without delay.
Instead of working to secure our southern border, protect religious freedom, and rein in out-of-control government spending, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have been laser-focused on removing President Trump from office for purely political reasons.
I want to remind those who are leading this ridiculous waste of taxpayer resources that there will be another election in 2020. The next election is the avenue for deciding a new president, not this. Throughout the history of this country, impeachment has been a rare process. With this impeachment, I worry that in the next 230 years of our Republic, it will be rare that a president is not impeached.
On behalf of my fellow Tennesseans, and on behalf of my constituents in the Sixth District of Tennessee, I stand with our President and Commander in Chief and will vote ``no'' to appoint and authorize managers for the impeachment trial of President Trump.
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