Cloture Motion

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. President, 8 days ago, democracy and the rule of law were dealt another blow. It wasn't at the hands of a mob this time. No bear spray. No battering rams. No chants of ``Hang Mike Pence'' or ``Where's Nancy?'' echoing through these halls. This time when the blow came, it made barely a sound. No screaming rioters in military garb and Viking helmets--only a President in a suit and tie with the demure flourish of a pen.

Eight days ago, President Trump pardoned over 1,500 people who assaulted this Capitol, brutalized police officers, and sought to overthrow a free and fair election. Among them were the ringleaders of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers--violent, unrepentant, White nationalists who orchestrated an insurrection; some who were convicted of seditious conspiracy, others of beating police officers, of dragging them into a mob, of bear-spraying them, of crushing them in a revolving door. Horrifying, sickening stuff.

With the flick of a wrist, their benefactor, their inspiration, Donald Trump, erased their crimes and handed them something unthinkable in a democratic society: absolution in the form of pardons and clemency.

This was not mercy; this was madness--1,550 pardons; 1550 acts of absolution for those who committed violence against our Constitution and against those who swore to defend it; 1,550 ``get out of jail free'' cards handed to individuals who tried to overturn a free and fair election.

Make no mistake, these pardons were a promise--a promise that if you commit violence in Donald Trump's name, you will be protected and you will be hailed, even glorified, for your violence; a promise that no matter how egregious your actions on behalf of this President may be, accountability will not find you; a promise that America will now have to live with the fear that January 6 may not be the last of the violence in service of this President.

Senator Kaine was saying that we have seen what happens when democracies falter, when leaders resort to violence and when those who were meant to stop them lose their will, when those who defy the rule of law are exalted instead of prosecuted. History is littered with the wreckage of nations whose leaders decided that violence for them was more important than justice, more important than the law, more important than the people.

Sadly, these pardons are not the last action the President will take to bend and subvert the rule of law to his will.

Already, we have seen this President and his Justice Department fire those who led a completely justified investigation into him, which led to indictments and, if allowed to proceed to a jury, would likely have led to his conviction.

We have seen his Justice Department announce an investigation into the investigators and those who prosecuted important cases against January 6 violent criminals.

We have seen this Justice Department, his Justice Department, reassign those who were viewed as not loyal enough.

We will see a lot more before the week, the month, and the year are out--much more. If we are to remain a democracy, we had better see much more done to stop it. In this body, in this vital check on the power of the Executive, we must see more done to stop it. We must draw a line here. We must draw a line now.

The Vice President argued that these pardons are about liberty. They are not. I ask you: What does liberty look like to the police officer who was beaten with a pole that once held the flag he was sworn to defend? What does liberty look like to the congressional staff who barricaded themselves in their offices, listening to the chaos outside? What does liberty look like to the families of those who died as a result of the violence that day?

Liberty and justice don't come from pardoning the perpetrators of violence; it comes from ensuring that violence is not repeated, condoned, absolved.

The question before us is simple, one that our Founders answered correctly and that today we must answer again: Are we a nation of laws or are we a nation of men or more specifically, of one man, above accountability, beyond reproach? Because make no mistake, we cannot be both.

What does it say if the Senate cannot and will not pass such a straightforward recognition of the law enforcement officers who protect us or a condemnation of the rioters who attacked them and tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power? It says that we are willing to see our cherished legacy die with a whimper, one sordid absolution after another. It is really that simple.

I urge my colleagues to join me, to join us, in condemning this most grotesque abuse of power. Condemn these pardons.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source