James Davis: “we can all agree that the President's improper relationship was immoral and inexcusable. His actions represent a…”

“we can all agree that the President's improper relationship was immoral and inexcusable. His actions represent a tremendous lapse of judgement which deeply troubles me and which has caused immense pain for his family and our entire Nation. Compounding these actions, the president clearly misled the American people--an act which has further torn the already tattered bonds of trust between citizens and elected officials. This is perhaps the highest price we will all pay for the self-centered actions of one man. Over the past months, our Nation has struggled to make sense of this scandal, to find a fitting punishment for the President's actions, and to move forward with important matters facing our country. While many Americans would simply like this whole issue to be dropped, we as Members of this House have a Constitutional duty to fulfill. Therefore, today's debate is not about whether we should move forward with an inquiry. Sadly, after a thorough review of the Referral from the Independent Council, I believe that the allegations of potentially impeachable offenses compels us to do so. The question instead is how we should move forward to ensure that we conduct an inquiry that is fair, timely, and focused and which minimizes the potential risks to our country as a whole. The structure of the inquiry is integral to preserving the integrity of the process.”