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[Pages S5777-S5778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, over the past month, evidence has
emerged that the President of the United States pressured a foreign
leader to investigate one of his leading political rivals. A
whistleblower inside the intelligence community first raised alarms
that the President applied pressure on Ukrainian President Zelensky
that would benefit President Trump politically. The President himself
then released a memorandum of his conversation with President Zelensky,
which demonstrably validated the whistleblower's concerns.
In the weeks that followed, the House has received testimony from a
number of State Department officials who have filled in additional
pieces to this very troubling puzzle. Rudy Giuliani's efforts to dig up
dirt on the President's political rivals were well known within the
State Department and the National Security Council. The Ambassador to
the EU, Gordon Sondland, was heavily involved with Mr. Giuliani, and we
continue to receive additional information about Mr. Sondland's
participation. His scheduled testimony in the coming days will
undoubtedly be relevant and important.
Amidst all of this, the White House has engaged in stonewalling and
outright defiance of congressional prerogatives. The State Department
instructed its officials not to comply with congressional subpoenas,
the White House has refused to cooperate with the House impeachment
inquiry, and the President has publicly and repeatedly sought to bully
and intimidate the whistleblower.
As additional facts are unearthed, we have a responsibility to
consider them with the best interest of our country in mind. The
whistleblower was doing a courageous and patriotic act and must be
protected. He must be protected. The Constitution made Congress a
coequal branch of government. That role must be respected. The matter
at the heart of the inquiry concerns the very integrity of our
democratic elections, and it must be investigated thoroughly,
completely, and in a nonpartisan manner.
[[Page S5778]]
Our Founding Fathers feared foreign interference in our elections and
considered it one of the greatest threats facing our fledgling
Republic. Once again, the wisdom of the Founding Fathers shines
through. If a foreign country can meddle in or affect the outcome of
our elections, Americans will quickly lose faith in our democracy. If
Russia or China or Iran controls our elections, what the heck do we
vote for? So the alleged offense by the President is clearly serious
enough to warrant an investigation by Congress, and that is exactly
what the House of Representatives is doing in its impeachment inquiry,
and it must continue unimpeded.
We can do two things, and we must do them. We can protect the
Constitution and take action to help average working families at the
same time. Here in the Senate, we can do both: protect the Constitution
and help average working families. It is not either-or. It is not one
or the other.
____________________
