John Conyers: “Mr. Speaker, historians note that those who are in the middle of history often do not themselves recognize it. Today…”

“Mr. Speaker, historians note that those who are in the middle of history often do not themselves recognize it. Today should not be about polls. Today should not be about the upcoming November election, and even today should not be about the serious matter of sexual misconduct. But with all due respect to my friends, that is exactly what today is all about. This is only the third time in the history of this country that we are talking about opening impeachment proceedings against our President, and I am shocked at how many people, including some in this chamber, take this serious matter so lightly, even gleefully. We are witnessing a stampede to justice, my friends, and like so many stampedes, when the trail dust settles, we will leave chaos and we will leave ruin. This is a time for statesmanship. Each one of us must independently assess the best direction for this House and this country, and I will say it is not an open ended, never ending, witch-hunt without any limits. We need to carefully consider the Starr report. We need to set a guideline and then we need to move forward with the serious, serious business of this country. Mr. Speaker, the House is about to decide whether to exercise one of the most grave constitutional steps within our power: hearings concerning the impeachment of the President.”