January 15, 2020 - Issue: Vol. 166, No. 9 — Daily Edition116th Congress (2019 - 2020) - 2nd Session
All in Senate sectionPrev46 of 72Next
MESSAGES FROM THE HOUSE; Congressional Record Vol. 166, No. 9
(Senate - January 15, 2020)
Text available as:
Formatting necessary for an accurate reading of this text may be shown by tags (e.g., <DELETED> or <BOLD>) or may be missing from this TXT display. For complete and accurate display of this text, see the PDF.
[Pages S242-S243] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] MESSAGES FROM THE HOUSE At 11:15 a.m., a message from the House of Representatives, delivered by Mrs. Cole, one of its reading clerks, announced that pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 629(b), and the order of the House of January 3, 2019, the Speaker appoints the following individuals to the Board of the Federal Judicial Center Foundation on the part of the House of Representatives for a term of 5 years: Ms. Elizabeth J. Cabraser of Sebastopol, California and Mr. Peter A. Kraus of Dallas, Texas. ____ At 5:36 p.m., a message from the House of Representatives, delivered by Ms. Johnson, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, announced that the House of Representatives has impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors Donald John Trump, President of the United States; the House of Representatives adopted articles of impeachment against Donald John Trump, which the managers on the part of the House of Representatives have been directed to carry to the Senate; and Mr. Schiff, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Jeffries, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Crow, and Ms. Garcia of Texas, have been appointed such managers. HOUSE RESOLUTION 755, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 18, 2019 Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. =========================== NOTE =========================== On page S242, January 15, 2020, second column, the following appears: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America i11 the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald ,J 01111 Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. The online Record has been corrected to read: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. ========================= END NOTE ========================= Article I: Abuse of Power The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ``shall have the sole Power of Impeachment'' and that the President ``shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors''. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States--and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed--Donald J. Trump has abused the powers of the Presidency, in that: Using the powers of his high office, President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election. He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 United States Presidential election to his advantage. President Trump also sought to pressure the Government of Ukraine to take these steps by conditioning official United States Government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public announcement of the investigations. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit. In so doing, President Trump used the powers of the Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process. He thus ignored and injured the interests of the Nation. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct through the following means: (1) President Trump--acting both directly and through his agents within and outside the United States Government-- corruptly solicited the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into-- (A) a political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; and (B) a discredited theory promoted by Russia alleging that Ukraine--rather than Russia--interfered in the 2016 United States Presidential election. (2) With the same corrupt motives, President Trump--acting both directly and through his agents within and outside the United States Government--conditioned two official acts on the public announcements that he had requested-- (A) the release of $391 million of United States taxpayer funds that Congress had appropriated on a bipartisan basis for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression and which President Trump had ordered suspended; and (B) a head of state meeting at the White House, which the President of Ukraine sought to demonstrate continued United States support for the Government of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. (3) Faced with the public revelation of his actions, President Trump ultimately released the military and security assistance to the Government of Ukraine, but has persisted in openly and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations for his personal political benefit. These actions were consistent with President Trump's previous imitations of foreign interference in United States elections. In all of this, President Trump abused the powers of the Presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal political benefit. He has also betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections. Wherefore President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self- governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States. Article II: Obstruction of Congress The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ``shall have the sole Power of Impeachment'' and that the President ``shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors''. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States--and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed--Donald J. Trump has directed the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its ``sole Power of Impeachment''. President Trump has abused the powers of the Presidency in a manner offensive to, and subversive of, the Constitution, in that: The House of Representatives has engaged in an impeachment inquiry focused on President Trump's corrupt solicitation of the Government of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 United States Presidential election. As part of this impeachment inquiry, the Committees undertaking the investigation served subpoenas seeking documents and testimony deemed vital to the inquiry from various Executive Branch agencies and offices, and current and former officials. In response, without lawful cause or excuse, President rump directed Executive [[Page S243]] Branch agencies, offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas. President Trump thus interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the House of Representatives, and assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the ``sole Power of Impeachment'' vested by the Constitution in the House of Representatives. President Trump abused the powers of his high office through the following means: (1) Directing the White House to defy a lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought therein by the Committees. (2) Directing other Executive Branch agencies and offices to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the production of documents and records from the Committees--in response to which the Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, Department of Energy, and Department of Defense refused to produce a single document or record. (3) Directing current and former Executive Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees--in response to which nine Administration officials defied subpoenas for testimony, namely John Michael ``Mick'' Mulvaney, Robert B. Blair, John A. Eisenberg, Michael Ellis, Preston Wells Griffith, Russell T. Vought, Michael Duffey, Brian McCormack, and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl. These actions were consistent with President Trump's previous efforts to undermine United States Government investigations into foreign interference in United States elections. Through these actions, President Trump sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct, as well as the unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the House of Representatives in the exercise of its ``sole Power of Impeachment''. In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives to investigate ``high Crimes and Misdemeanors''. This abuse of office served to cover up the President's own repeated misconduct and to seize and control the power of impeachment--and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard vested solely in the House of Representatives. In all of this, President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore; President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States. ____ House Resolution 798, in the House of Representatives, January 15, 2020 Resolved, That Mr. Schiff, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Jeffries, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Crow, and Ms. Garcia of Texas are appointed managers to conduct the impeachment trial against Donald John Trump, President of the United States, that a message be sent to the Senate to inform the Senate of these appointments, and that the managers so appointed may, in connection with the preparation and the conduct of the trial, exhibit the articles of impeachment to the Senate and take all other actions necessary, which may include the following: (1) Employing legal, clerical and other necessary assistants and incurring such other expenses as may be necessary, to be paid from amounts available to the Committee on the Judiciary under applicable expense resolutions or from the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives. (2) Sending for persons and papers, and filing with the Secretary of the Senate, on the part of the House of Representatives, any pleadings, in conjunction with or subsequent to, the exhibition of the articles of impeachment that the managers consider necessary. ____________________
All in Senate sectionPrev46 of 72Next