On the recordOctober 31, 2019
As a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee and one of only 5 members and one of three Democrats to serve on that House Judiciary Committee during the impeachment of 1998, I rise in strong support of the Rule governing debate for H. Res. 660, as well as the underlying legislation--a resolution directing committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise the constitutional power, solely vested in the House of Representatives, to impeach Donald John Trump, the current President of the United States of America. This is a somber and solemn time. Today we choose our beloved nation over individual self-interest and a political party. We choose due process, regular order and fairness. And as the founding fathers crafted a document, which 230 years later, from 1789 to 2019, we can abide by, we choose the Constitution. When the Framers of our Constitution designed our government, they bifurcated power between the federal and state governments, and divided power among the branches. Indeed as the Framers debated ratification of the Constitution, they knew of the need to remove an individual who breached the public trust.…
