Today, I will vote to impeach President Donald Trump, consistent with my promise to defend the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. It’s now up to the Senate to conduct a trial to decide whether the president should be removed from office.
The facts are not disputed. The president withheld nearly $400 million in foreign aid and a White House meeting from Ukraine in order to force that foreign official to investigate one of the president’s political rivals. There is no counter-narrative.
He pressured Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 elections, just as the Mueller Report showed his campaign cooperated with Russia as it interfered in our 2016 elections. That is an abuse of power—the very type our founders referred to when they put impeachment in the Constitution.
The president also obstructed Congress by refusing to allow witnesses to testify. He is not exercising a privilege over particular evidence or testimony. He is just saying Congress can’t have information. This is unprecedented and a violation of our separation of powers.
Many have lamented that this effort is not bipartisan. That’s up to my Republican colleagues. I’ve had enough of the “both sides” rhetoric that characterizes today’s punditry and journalism. Republicans have excused Trump’s crimes or pretended they didn’t happen.
Republicans have not sought the truth; they have sought to avoid it. They have demeaned and insulted witnesses–patriots, warriors, career diplomats–who have provided evidence against the president.
No House Republican has joined in to demand the documents or witnesses that the president has refused to produce. And Senate Republican leaders have announced that he himself can set the rules of his own trial.
I believe the president’s actions warrant removal from office, but we could have an honest debate. What's not up for debate is what happened, or whether it’s wrong. It’s historically criminal and unpatriotic.
Republicans say they want to avoid impeachment, but what choice do they give us? They refuse to seek the truth and condemn the abuse of power to prevent it in the future.
That’s the tragedy of today’s events. In our nation’s history, thousands of Americans have gone into battle to fight for our democracy. Those young people served without reservation, as they still do today. Many were gravely injured and some made the ultimate sacrifice.
In contrast, for fear of losing an election, my colleagues will not speak up for rule of law or against presidential abuse of power. Those who don’t actively excuse the behavior will remain silent and cowardly. Voters may give them a pass, but history will judge them harshly.
