John Thune: “over the past several weeks I have agonized like most Members of Congress over the weight and the burden of the…”

“over the past several weeks I have agonized like most Members of Congress over the weight and the burden of the constitutional duty that is facing the United States House of Representatives. This is one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make in my career, and it is not a decision I enjoy making. However, after much study, much thought and much prayer, I have come to the following conclusion: Either we are a Nation of laws or we are not, and if we are, then those laws have to apply equally to all people. Our Declaration of Independence says it best. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. In America there is no emperor, and there is no Praetorian guard. There is one standard of justice that applies equally to all, and to say or do otherwise will undermine the most sacred of all Americans ideals. President Clinton has committed federal crimes, and there must be a reckoning or no American shall ever again be prosecuted for those same crimes.”