Richard Burr: “in my 25 years representing North Carolina in Congress, I have cast thousands of votes, each with its own significance.…”

“in my 25 years representing North Carolina in Congress, I have cast thousands of votes, each with its own significance. The ones that weigh most heavily are those that send our men and women in uniform into armed conflict. Those are the votes I spend the most time debating before casting--first and foremost because of the human cost involved but secondly because they hold the power to irrevocably set the course of American history. With similar consideration, I have taken a sober and deliberate approach to the impeachment proceedings of the last few weeks, conscious of my constitutional responsibility to serve as an impartial juror. As the investigative body, the House has charged President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The Senate's role is to determine whether the House has proven its case beyond a reasonable doubt and whether, if true, these charges rise to the level of removing the President from office. After listening to more than 70 hours of arguments from the House managers and the President's counsel, I have concluded that the House has not provided the Senate with a compelling reason for taking the unprecedented and destabilizing step of removing the President from office. In my role as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I have visited countries all over the world. What separates the United States from every other nation on Earth is our predictable, peaceful transitions of power.…”