Dusty Johnson: “Mr. Chief Justice, the great question now before the Senate is not whether the rule of law will prevail--it surely…”

“Mr. Chief Justice, the great question now before the Senate is not whether the rule of law will prevail--it surely will-- both by the actions of this body and by possible proceedings within the judicial system. The question before the Senate is whether we should take action against the President beyond that allowed for in our nation's courts. We are, I believe, confronted by two threshold questions which must first be resolved before consideration can or need be given to weighing the evidence presented by the House Managers. First, is whether the Articles of Impeachment have been adequately drawn to allow the accused to know with precision the wrong-doing to which he is accused, and to require that a 2/3 majority vote of the Senate be secured upon a single act of wrong-doing in order to convict. As a second threshold matter, if the Articles are at least adequately drawn, do they, if true, allege wrong-doing of sufficient import to justify for the very first time in our nation's long history, the over-turning of the people's will as expressed in a free, fair and democratic national election? I am troubled by the adequacy of the articles, but even accepting them, the second threshold question of impeachability is simply not met. Only if these threshold questions are adequately met in the mind of an individual Senator, can that Senator proceed to determine whether the weight of the evidence is sufficient to convict.”