Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, this is indeed a sad day and a solemn day. As indicated by my colleagues on the floor of the House, however, it is an obligation of this body. I'd like to acknowledge the chairman of the Impeachment Task Force, Congressman Schiff, for his leadership, but also for his balance and temperament in a very serious challenge that we have in providing the guideposts and the moral guideposts for a number of tough issues that deal with our Federal Judiciary and a number of other instances where impeachment is in fact the authority of this body and the Constitution. I'd like to acknowledge the ranking member, Mr. Goodlatte; the chairman of the full committee, Mr. Conyers; and the ranking member, Mr. Smith. This is an instance where you would have hoped that we would have had a different outcome. But as my colleagues have so articulately expressed, there was a long pattern that many of us found very disturbing. Judge Thomas Porteous seemingly began these actions without reproof while he was a State district judge, soliciting and accepting cash and other things of values from attorneys practicing before him, and failing to recuse himself from a prominent case in which those attorneys were involved. {time} 1115 As a State judge, he repeatedly accepted things of value from bail bondsmen in exchange for setting bonds at levels to increase profits for the bail bondsmen and, after becoming a Federal judge, assisting them in forming corrupt relationships with other State judges.…”