On the recordFebruary 4, 2020
as I rise today to discuss this impeachment trial, I am reminded of an inscription above the front door of the Finance Building in Harrisburg, PA, from the 1930s. Here is the inscription: ``All public service is a trust, given in faith and accepted in honor.'' I believe that President Trump and every public official in America must earn that trust every day. That sacred trust is given to us, as the inscription says, ``in faith,'' by virtue of our election. The question for the President and every public official is this: Will we accept this trust by our honorable conduct? The trust set forth in the inscription is an echo of Alexander Hamilton's words in Federalist No. 65, where Hamilton articulated the standard for impeachment as ``offenses which proceed from the misconduct of public men, or, in other words, from the abuse or violation of some public trust.'' Over the past 2 weeks, I have listened carefully to the arguments put forward by the President's defense lawyers and the House managers. In light of the substantial record put forth by the managers in this case, I have determined that the managers have not only met but exceeded their burden of proof. President Trump violated his duty as a public servant by corruptly abusing his power to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 election and by repeatedly obstructing Congress's constitutionally based investigation into his conduct.…
