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The House Is Poised To Impeach President Trump Today As The Impeachment Debate Begins. Aired 11-11:30a ET
Aired December 18, 2019 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
KENNEDY: I don't yet know how they will tell the story of this era, but I want to tell you the story of this day. Let the record show that today, justice won, that we did our job, that we kept our word, that we stood our sacred ground. Let the record show that we did not let you down. I love you, listen to mom, I'll be home soon.
SPEAKER: The gentleman's time's expired. Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm going to reserve my time for the moment.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts?
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I'm proud to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from California, Ms. Lee.
SPEAKER: Gentlelady's recognized for one minute.
B. LEE: Thank you very much. Madam Speaker, first of all let me just say I taught my children that there are consequences if they broke the law. I am saddened but I'm not shocked that we are here today considering articles of impeachment against President Trump. I am saddened but I'm not shocked because of the pattern of corruption we have seen from this President.
Yes, I am saddened but I'm not shocked because this President has routinely shown his disregard of Congress and the rule of law. The facts are not in dispute. The President abused his power, defied the public's trust and betrayed his oath of office. He undermined our elections by corruptly soliciting foreign interference in our elections to benefit his own future reelection efforts. Then, he obstructed Congress every step of the way in an effort to cover it all up.
Donald Trump has been and remains a threat to our national security, a clear danger to our democracy and wholly unfit to serve as President of the United States. We have an obligation to act today to uphold the Constitution but also to show our children and grandchildren that no one is above the law, and that includes the President of the United States.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma? COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts?
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I'm happy to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from Massachusetts, Ms. Trahan.
SPEAKER: Gentlelady's recognized for one minute.
TRAHAN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Madam Speaker, today I rise to defend our democracy. In this chamber, we debate the nation's most pressing issues and often reasonable people can draw different conclusions, but not today. The facts are black and white.
President Trump abused the power of his office for personal and political gain and then he engaged in a cover-up. It is up to us to confront those facts and vote to preserve and protect our democratic republic. This is not a fight I or my colleagues sought out when we ran for Congress but it is one we pledged when we raised our right hand and swore an oath to defend our Constitution.
Anything other than a vote to impeach will be read as a vote endorsing a future President without rules or consequences and anything goes, no holds barred brand of Executive Branch authority that will leave us weaker and surely undermine what the framers passed down.
We owe it to future generations to transcend personal interests and party loyalty and vote our conscience for what's really at stake here today, the sanctity of our Constitution and the sanctity of our democracy. Thank you and I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Continues to reserve. Gentleman from Massachusetts?
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I'd like to ask unanimous consent to insert into the record an October 23rd New York Times article entitled 'Ukraine Knew Of Aid Freeze By Early August, Undermining Trump Defense.'
SPEAKER: Without objection, so ordered.
MCGOVERN: At this point, I'd like to yield one minute to the gentleman from Maryland, Mr. Sarbanes.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
SARBANES: Thank the gentleman for yielding. Madam Speaker, I rise today in support of the two articles of impeachment against President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Voting to impeach the President is a weighty decision. It is not something you reach for, it is something you are brought to reluctantly when the evidence presented can no longer be denied. In this sober and historic moment, members of Congress are called upon to uphold our oath of office and our duty to the Constitution. Today, we answer that call. The President's actions compromised the national security of the United States, undermined the integrity of our democratic process and betrayed the trust of the American people.
In soliciting foreign interference, President Trump took direct aim at the heart of our democracy. The American people should decide our elections, not a foreign country. As long as the President continues to invite foreign interference into our democracy, the integrity of the 2020 election remains at risk.
The question is will Congress allow the President to place his personal interests above those of his country.
[11:05:00]
I urge my colleagues in the House to join me in answering that question with a resounding no because no one, not even the President of the United States, is above the law. I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts?
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record an October 9th Politico magazine article entitled 'This Is What A Legitimate Anti-Corruption Effort In Ukraine Would Look Like,' which explains that legitimate requests are made through the DOJ's Office of International Affairs and pursuant to the United States Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty.
SPEAKER: Without objection, so ordered.
MCGOVERN: At this point, I'd like to yield one minute to the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Castor.
SPEAKER: Gentlelady's recognized for one minute.
CASTOR: The President abused his power, he violated his oath of office, he sought to elevate himself as a dictator, a king, but we are not a monarchy, we are the United States of America, we are a republic, a democracy, where the Executive does not have absolute power.
America was founded on a system of checks and balances. When the President withheld military aid to vulnerable Ukraine and pressed for a personal favor to manufacture dirt against a political opponent, he went too far.
He undermined America's national security, he sought to sabotage our elections, he elevated his personal interests over the interests of America, then he tried to cover up his scandalous behavior and he obstructed the investigation. He violated his oath of office but I intend to uphold mine to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. The President must be impeached today. I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts?
MCGOVERN: I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a December 5th Boston Globe editorial entitled 'Impeach The President.'
SPEAKER: Without objection.
MCGOVERN: And I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a December 11th USA Today editorial entitled 'Impeach President Trump, The President's Ukraine Shakedown And Stonewalling Are Too Serious For The House To Ignore.'
SPEAKER: Without objection.
MCGOVERN: At this point, I'd like to yield one minute to the -- to the gentlewoman from Florida, Ms. Wasserman Schultz.
SPEAKER: Gentlelady's recognized for one minute.
WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you, Madam Speaker. Madam Speaker, throughout this process I listened as a member of the House Oversight Committee to career diplomats testify in depositions and found myself contemplating the gravity of this decision.
One of my daughters asked then how I'd make my decision about impeachment. I told her that when her future children learn about President Trump's impeachment, they may ask mommy, what did grandma do? I want my daughter to be able to tell her children grandma did the right thing because in America, no one is above the law.
With his conduct around Ukraine, President Trump corruptly abused his power for his own interests at direct odds with our national welfare and our Constitution. This President put his interests before those of this nation. Left unchecked, he'd do it again and has said so.
The actions and ongoing schemes that led us to this moment are severe threats to our national security and democracy that we cannot defend or dismiss. With history watching, I must fulfill my constitutional duty and vote to impeach this President.
His corrupt conduct and assault on our Constitution leave no other choice. I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentlelady yields back. Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Reserves. Gentleman from Massachusetts? MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I -- I yield one minute to the gentleman from California, Mr. Khanna.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
KHANNA: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
Today, the House is voting to affirm a conservative principle. What makes America the strongest and most prosperous nation in the world is our reverence for the rule of law. It is our love of the law that protects our freedoms, our private property, our families from the exercise of arbitrary power.
The real threat to American leadership in the 21st century is internal decline. We choose not to stand idly by while we see the corrupting of our body politic with an attitude that might makes right, that winners don't have to follow the rules.
In voting to impeach we remember Lincoln's Lyceum Address: "Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his prosperity swear by the blood of the Revolution never to violate in the least particular the laws of this country. And never to tolerate their violation by other. Let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges, let it be written primer spelling books and in almanacs, let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls and enforced in the courts of justice. And in short let it become the political religion of the nation."
[11:10:00]
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma.
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve. Just to advise to through the chair, my friend. I'm waiting for an additional speaker, but we reserve our time at this point.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves.
Gentleman from Massachusetts.
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to insert into the record a December 17th CNN article entitled, "Fact Check: Trump's Wild Letter to Pelosi is Filled with False and Misleading Claims".
SPEAKER: Without objection.
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I yield one minute to the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr. Butterfield.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
BUTTERFIELD: I thank the gentleman.
Madam Speaker, I rise on this solemn occasion as we, the House of Representatives, exercise the power given to us by the United States Constitution. The original Constitution was flawed in some respects, but with respect to presidential misconduct, it was unmistakable. The framers knew that presidents could be corrupt or abusive with their power, and so impeachment was written into our organic law.
Since taking office nearly three years ago, President Trump has consistently and intentionally divided this country. He has consistently encouraged foreign actors to interfere in our elections. He has thumbed his nose, Madam Speaker, at the legislative branch.
Enough is enough. We must protect our Constitution, our democracy. Our vote today to proffer serious charges against President Trump and deliver the charges to the Senate for trial, a place where President Trump can defend himself and attempt, if he chooses, to convince the Senate and the American people that his conduct does not violate the Constitution.
I thank the gentleman. I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentleman yield back.
Gentleman from Oklahoma?
COLE: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I yield one minute to my good friend, a distinguished combat veteran for our country, Mr. Baird of Indiana.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
BAIRD: Madam Speaker, today marks a sad day for America. Instead of getting to work to solve the issues of our time, the House Democrats have decided to try to discredit President Trump and to undo results of the 2016 election.
The facts here are clear: The president did not commit any crimes, he did he not break any laws, and there was no quid pro quo. This has been a secretive, misdirected process from the very beginning, and the American people see right through it.
I look forward to voting against this impeachment charade and getting back to work to support the efforts of President Trump to continue growing our economy, creating jobs, and improving the lives of all Americans.
I yield back the balance of my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman yields back.
Gentleman from Massachusetts.
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I yield one minute to the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Boyle.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
BOYLE: Thank you. Madam Speaker, this is the fourth impeachment proceeding against an American president, and the most serious. The president committed numerous crimes, threatening the national security. Ultimately, the matter before us today is not a question of fact, for the evidence is undisputed, nor is it a question of law, as the Constitution is clear.
The heart of the matter is this: Will members of this House have the courage to choose fidelity to the Constitution over loyalty to their political party? For the sake of our Constitution and our country, for Americans today and tomorrow, I urge all members to summon the courage to uphold the rule of law and vote yes.
I yield back.
SPEAKER: Gentleman yields back.
Gentleman from Oklahoma.
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker. I continue to reserve my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman reserves.
Gentleman from Massachusetts.
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, I yield one minute to the distinguished gentleman from Missouri, Mr. Clay.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized for one minute.
CLAY: Madam Speaker, I rise today to hold Donald John Trump accountable for his repeated abuse of power, his deliberate obstruction of the House's Constitutionally-mandated oversight responsibilities and his unprecedented misuse of the presidency to weaken the separation of powers and subvert our Constitution by dangling $391 million in Congressionally-appropriated tax dollars over the head of an embattled ally in order to coerce a fraudulent investigation into a potential political opponent.
Our Founders feared a lawless, amoral president would willfully put national security at risk for his own personal gain. In 1974, Republicans made it clear that their ultimate loyalty was not to one man, but to upholding the Constitution. Today, the uncontested evidence shows Donald Trump violated his Oath of Office.
[11:15:00]
My friends on both sides of the aisle can either defend him or defend the Constitution.
SPEAKER: Expired.
CLAY: History will not permit you to do both.
I yield back.
SPEAKER: The gentleman from Oklahoma continues to reserve?
COLE: I do, Madam Speaker.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Massachusetts.
MCGOVERN: Can I inquire of the gentleman how many more speakers he has?
COLE: I'm prepared to close when my friend is.
MCGOVERN: (OFF-MIKE) I -- we are (ph) prepared to close.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Oklahoma's recognized to close.
COLE: Thank you very much, Madam Speaker. I yield myself the balance of my time.
SPEAKER: Recognized.
COLE: Madam Speaker, before I begin my formal remarks in closing, I want to say one thing for the record: I have great respect for all of my friends on the other side of the aisle, and I am sure they're voting their convictions. So when I vote mine, please don't imply I'm doing it for my political party. I'm doing it because it's what I believe is right, and I do believe I can defend both the president and the Constitution of the United States, and I think that's exactly what I am doing.
Madam Speaker, I cannot oppose this rule strongly enough. The process we saw leading up to it today was a complete charade. It was a closed process, an unfair process and a rushed process, and it could only have ever had one logical predetermined ending. Throughout it all, the majority trampled on minority rights. They refused to call witnesses with relevant firsthand knowledge. They relied on hearsay news reports to make their case. They denied Republicans the right to hold a minority hearing day, and they refused the president of the United States his due process rights in the committee that was actually conducting an -- the -- the impeachment process and investigating him.
And in the end, what was the result? Articles of impeachment based on an event that never happened; a purported quid pro quo that did not exist; aid that was allegedly withheld that in reality was never withheld at all; and a narrative of intent based on nothing more than fantasy.
Madam Speaker, we deserve better than this. Impeachment is the most consequential act the House of Representatives can undertake. It must not and cannot be based on a flawed process. It cannot come at the expense of minority rights or due process to the accused. It cannot be based on a vendetta against a president that the majority has pursued since the day it was elected, and it cannot be based on nothing more than spin and hearsay.
I oppose this rule and I oppose the flawed and unfair process.
Madam Speaker, it's a very solemn vote that all of us will cast. I want to end by, number one, thanking my good friend, the chairman of the Rules Committee, for conducting the kind of hearing he conducted yesterday, but I also want to underscore again: We are very violently opposed to the process, very strongly opposed to the rule, think this is a charade and been very unfair.
So Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to vote no on the previous question, no on the rule, no on the underlying measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman from Massachusetts.
MCGOVERN: I yield myself the remaining time.
SPEAKER: Gentleman's recognized.
MCGOVERN: Madam Speaker, let me -- let me thank my friend, Mr. Cole, for his kind words, and I appreciate his leadership on the Rules Committee and the fact that he respects this institution.
But Madam -- Madam Speaker, let me say again what happened here: The president withheld congressionally-approved military aid to a country under siege to extract a personal political favor. That's a cold, hard fact.
The question before us comes down to this: Should a president be allowed to ask a foreign nation to interfere in an American election?
You know, I remember my first political experience as a middle- schooler in 1972, leaving leaflets at the homes of -- of potential voters urging them to support George McGovern for president -- no relation, by the way. I remember what an honor it was to ask people to support him even though I was too young to vote myself, and what a privilege it was later in life to ask voters for their support in my own campaigns.
I've been part of winning campaigns and I've been part of losing ones, too. People I thought would be great presidents like Senator McGovern were never given that chance. Make no mistake: I was disappointed, but I accepted it. I would take losing an election any day of the week when the American people render that verdict. But I will never be OK if other nations decide our leaders for us, and the president of the United States is rolling out the welcome mat for that kind of foreign interference.
[11:20:00]
To my Republican friends, imagine any Democratic president sitting in the Oval Office, President Obama, President Clinton, any of them, would your answer here still be the same?
No one should be allowed to use the powers of the presidency to undermine our elections, period. This isn't about siding with your team. I didn't swear an oath to defend a political party. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America.
And when I vote yes on this rule and the underlying articles, my conscience will be clear. I ask all of my colleagues to search their souls before casting their votes. I ask them all to stand up for our democracy, to stand up for our Constitution. Madam Speaker, I urge a yes vote on the rule and the previous question. I yield back the balance of my time. And I move the previous question on the resolution.
SPEAKER: The question is on ordering the previous question on the resolution. All in favor say aye.
Opposed, no.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
COLE: Madam Speaker.
SPEAKER: The gentleman from Oklahoma.
COLE: Thank you, Madam Speaker.
On that I would request the yeas and nays.
SPEAKER: The yeas and nays are requested. Those favoring a vote by the yeas and nays will rise.
A sufficient number having risen, the yeas and nays are ordered. Members will record their votes by electronic device. Pursuant to Clause 9 of Rule 20, the chair will reduce to five minutes the minimum time for any electronic vote on the question of adoption of the resolution.
This will be a 15-minute vote.
BLITZER: Alright, so there's another procedural vote now on the Rules Committee, a motion, 15 minutes the members will have a chance to vote Jack, electronically. And the next motion will be to go ahead and approve the Rules Committee, and then they can actually begin the real six hour debate.
TAPPER: That's right, although they certainly have been talking right now in the last few hours, not so much about the rule but about whether or not President Trump should be impeached.
We saw a number of Democrats giving very strong cases as to why they think the president has abused his office and obstructed Congress.
We saw a lot of Republicans talking how they don't think this process is fair, how President Trump did nothing wrong.
So even though they were supposed to be debating the rule, they were in actuality debating the merits of the case. And we're going to hear a lot more about that after this rule is agreed to in the next few minutes.
And then, Jerrold Nadler, a Democrat from New York, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and his Republican counterpart from Georgia, Doug Collins, take over the debate.
LAURA COATES, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: That's right. I think this was a good preview of what we will see and a good preview of what we've seen already and the two different worlds, in many ways Democrats and Republicans live in, in terms of what they want to talk about, what they see as happening here.
Republicans, of course, saying they feel shut out of the process. They feel like the president essentially did nothing wrong in that the Democrats are trying to undo an election.
You saw some of the Democrats appeal to history. Joe Kennedy got there and, you know, addressed it to his children. Debbie Wasserman Schultz did the same thing, saying she wants her grandkids to look at her favorably, look at the moment she had in this historic time favorably.
So, yes, I this I this is going to be what we see. A very partisan divide on display here and a partisan divide that I think is also reflected in the greater population.
BLITZER: John, it's almost unanimous on the Republican side. Completely unanimous on the Republican side. Almost unanimous on the Democratic side.
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And so, at the end of the day, you'll see partisan votes on these rules. At the end of the day, we'll have both articles of impeachment approved by the House.
You will have two Democrats vote against one article, probably three Democrats vote against the second article. Jerry Golden, of Maine, says he will split his votes in favor of one, not in favor of the other. The Independent, Justin Amash, who used to be a Republican, he's more of a Libertarian, will side with the Democrats.
Both parties will somehow try to spin this as bipartisan because they got a vote or two votes from somebody else. Strip that say way. This is a very partisan day as America makes history.
Watching the debates so far, it's been interesting, both the Democratic speakers in favor of the rules, since we're debating the rules right now, the Republican speakers against it. Almost without exception. One or two exceptions from safe districts. Leadership allies to make the case to get the process going.
It will be interesting to me later, as they allocate this time -- you heard Republicans complaining, we want more time. Most House Republicans are safe. They want to go out and say no.
For some of these Democrats, it actually is a tough vote. They've decided to vote yes on these articles of impeachment.
I'm fascinated, later in the day, do they ask the leadership for time to speak on the floor or is what they say back in their home district be their message.
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: One thing that struck me this morning is that you heard the Republicans complaining about access to committee materials and saying they weren't provided everything they needed.
[11:25:09]
But you did not hear anything from Republicans about the blanket denial of witnesses and documents from the White House and from the State Department. That was not raised.
So it seems to me, an argument that we're going to hear more of as the Democrats speak about what they were trying to do when they are charged with denying people everything that they wanted to make a decision. They'll say, you know, just ask the White House why we didn't get those people, why we didn't get those documents, those e- mails from the State Department we have asked for.
BLITZER: As this voting continues, we'll take a quick break.
It's a historic day here in the nation's capital. Much more of our special coverage right after this.
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