Sylvester Turner: “Mr. Clinton's personal conduct was wrong, but no amount of outrage or indignation can obscure the fact that the rule of…”

“Mr. Clinton's personal conduct was wrong, but no amount of outrage or indignation can obscure the fact that the rule of law begins with the reading of the Constitution and a review of the history of the Constitutional Convention debates of 1787, a principle well recognized by every court in our land. The framers of our Constitution and their forefathers had fled a monarchy and wanted to be sure that the person serving in the newly created position of chief executive did not usurp his powers and seek to reinstate the unlimited powers of the throne. Impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors gave Congress the power to defend the Constitution against acts that would destroy the constitutional order or extend the presidential power beyond its defined limits. For other crimes and misdemeanors, the framers chose to again depart from the monarchial tradition and they left the President subject to the same laws and to the same judicial penalties and punishments and protections as every other citizen. The President is not above the law, and today an independent counsel retains the power to indict the President and try him after he leaves office for any crime he may have committed. My oath of office does not require that I defend the President, but I cannot fail to defend the Constitution. Under that solemn oath, I cannot vote in the present case to remove the President from office.”