Richard Blumenthal

It is a moment that really demands us to put country above personal interests and party. And I hope that we will hear the better angels of our nature and rise, hopefully, and meet that challenge.

My colleagues are now on record. And they will be haunted by history and perhaps by the voters because they're on record against witnesses and documents.

Seventy percent of the country believes that we should hear the evidence, that we should seek the truth. And investigate, continue to uncover this abuse of power corruptly by the president to serve his own personal interests.

I am continuing to be really awed by the sense of history and purpose here. And the real historic task we have ahead of us to uncover the truth, presented to the American people, the House managers are doing a very able job of making the…

The question of why now and what's next. There's no clear path here, no apparent strategy. The administration seems to be lurching from day to day.

There is no question, Anderson, that Soleimani is responsible for sending to their grave countless Americans. He has American blood on his hands. He's an enmity. He has real enmity, had enmity toward the United States. But the question is…

What really alarms me is that this step clearly seems to be an escalation towards war. In fact, the administration seems to be stumbling into war head first without a strategy that has been defined or communicated to Congress or the public.

We have an obligation to exercise oversight, checks and balances. It's our constitutional job. We need to do it.

The president needs Congress, more important, he needs the American people to support him.

The witnesses that we have asked to testify have direct knowledge. They have the information and evidence that Republicans themselves have said they want to hear.

Not the sham and charade that Mitch McConnell is apparently going to give the president.

There will be a Senate trial. It is required by the constitution. The issue of when the articles of impeachment will be sent to the Senate is a decision for Nancy Pelosi to make, and very understandably, she wants some assurance that it…

They need to step forward, and I hope that they'll be hearing from their constituents over these next couple weeks.

71 percent of the American people want documents and witnesses as they would in any trial. More than 60 percent of Republicans.

I think what they'll say is that all of these facts, whatever they are, in the legal history here don't constitute an impeachable offense. But clearly, there was bribery, which is specifically mentioned in the Constitution as an…

If the president wants to tell the American people about his innocence, he ought to come forward -- and talk to Congress about it, in public, under oath, rather than hiding behind a computer screen.

Combined with other circumstances, absolutely. If I were arguing in case to a jury, I would say that we had enough evidence even before this report to rest my case.

There is direct evidence as yet whether or not he ordered it. But there is circumstantial evidence in the timing of his release of the aid, not until September 11th, only because of protests... the president evidently did and that probably…

It's a lot bigger than two plus two equaling four. This really terrific report shows I think shows why the president was in effect objecting to the potential charges about him before those charges were made, that clip that you showed…

I think it's unsustainable as a matter of conscience.

Their silence is unsustainable. History is going to judge them partially. The voters will.

There is no love for Donald Trump on the part of many of my Republican colleagues and there is severe disdain for him.

The silence of my Republican colleagues is absolutely unsustainable and inexcusable.

Speaking truth to power takes courage and protecting whistle blowers is absolutely essential to stopping waste and fraud in government but also to deterring retaliation and retribution which is all too common.

The danger is very real and urgent. Protecting whistleblowers is a long established practice.