John Rutherford: “I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in 2016, Vladimir Putin and his cronies waged a war on our elections…”

“I thank the gentleman for yielding. Mr. Speaker, in 2016, Vladimir Putin and his cronies waged a war on our elections with the goal of sowing discord and division in America. Do you think he has been successful? Somewhere in Russia right now, Putin is laughing at us today. The majority is giving him exactly what he wants: a divided America with pure, partisan politics, with nasty political rhetoric at an all-time high. And some across the aisle are discrediting the results of future elections already. It seems to many Americans that, for the past 3 years, the House majority has been carrying out the wishes of the Kremlin. The sad part is the Democrats have vowed to continue their sham investigations even after today's vote. Impeaching a duly-elected President in a purely partisan manner with no crimes to show for it--not one element of a crime defined--disgraces the integrity of our democracy. Now is the time to end the partisan politics, come together, and put America first. Mr. Speaker, I urge this body to vote ``no'' to partisan impeachment.”