Political Quotes

“Mr. Chief Justice, distinguished colleagues, let me begin by expressing my appreciation to the Chief Justice for his wisdom, for his infinite patience, and for conferring upon this body the judicial temperament envisioned by the Framers. I would also like to commend both the Senate majority and minority leaders for upholding the dignity of this body, by preserving judiciousness and fairness, and maintaining bipartisanship and civility. Colleagues, we have arrived at a juncture in our public lives that will largely define our place before the judgment of history, and I think it will be said that justice and the Constitution were well served. Indeed, the consequences of our decision are manifest in the words of Alexander Hamilton, who wrote of 'the awful discretion which a court of impeachment must necessarily have, to doom to honor or to infamy the most confidential and the most distinguished characters of the community.' Those words should weigh heavily upon us. But while the gravity of our task is humbling, the genius of our Constitution is ennobling; for we deliberate not under the imposing shadow cast by the exceptional men who framed this Nation, but in the illuminating light of their wisdom. Impeachment was designed by the Framers to be a circuitbreaker to protect the Republic, when 'checks and balances' would not contain the darker vagaries of human nature.”