On the recordDecember 3, 2019
as the House of Representatives continues to hold hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, it is incumbent on all of us here in the Senate to review the evidence, keep an open mind, and avoid prejudging the case. If impeachment articles are served to the Senate, Senators must act as judges and jurors, take an oath to do impartial justice, and see to it that the Senate conducts a fair trial. So I have been hugely disappointed in the partisan conduct of some of my colleagues on the Republican side, who, in their rush to defend the President, have attacked career public servants and former members of the armed services because they didn't like their testimony, and then they spread baseless conspiracy theories and use their powers of a congressional office to play defense for the President. The Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for example, has attempted to send the State Department on a wild fishing expedition for documents to support an already debunked rightwing conspiracy theory. Meanwhile, the State Department is blocking or delaying the production of documents related to several legitimate and ongoing investigations, many of which were requested months ago. I would expect that Senator Graham's request, outlandish as it is, would go at the back of the line.…
