[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 147 (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7827-H7828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REQUESTING THE PRESIDENT TO RESIGN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Gutierrez) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GUTIERREZ. Mr. Speaker, I have written a letter to the President 
of the United States, which I am sending today, that carries a simple 
message on behalf of the American people: Mr. President, it is time for 
you to resign the office of the Presidency for the good of the United 
States and her people.
  It has become clear to Congress and the American people, especially 
those of us who do not exclusively watch sanitized versions on the 
President's most supported media outlets, that, for decades, the 
President led a vast criminal enterprise that went on to engage in 
criminal activity during the 2016 campaign for the White House and 
engaged in criminal activity since taking the office of President. The 
fact is clear.
  The President is the target of multiple criminal investigations on 
several fronts:
  Number one, the violation of Federal election laws, including the 
failure to report payments and contributions as required under campaign 
finance law;
  Number two, the violation of tax, banking, and fraud laws related to 
The Trump Organization and immediate business associates and family 
members of the President;
  Number three, apparent involvement and encouragement of the illegal 
hacking of political opponents during the 2016 campaign and efforts to 
derail investigations and inquiries since taking the office of 
President; and
  Number four, working and encouraging and collaborating with a foreign 
government, Russia, to interfere in the 2016 election in order to help 
the President's campaign, combined with efforts, while in office, to 
obstruct justice in the investigation of the campaign.
  Those are just four of the criminal conspiracies that point directly 
to the President of the United States and compromise his ability to 
continue leading the Nation.
  I have only 5 minutes to speak, so I don't have the time to enumerate 
the convictions in Federal court of close associates of the President's 
business interests and campaign, nor the guilty

[[Page H7828]]

pleas, the plea bargains, or the immunity granted to the President's 
employees, friends, and business associates, including those directly 
managing his political operation and serving in his White House.
  And, yes, the investigations are still going on, as are the 
prosecutions, guilty pleas, and sentencing of the President's 
coconspirators in each of these four criminal matters. And we don't 
know; there may be many more shoes to drop from local, State, and 
Federal prosecutors, because when you start looking under the rocks 
piled around this President, you find ample evidence of systematic 
fraud, criminal activity, and coverup.

  For me, this has nothing to do with the President's racism, his 
misogyny, his homophobia and Islamophobia. It is different than his 
ties to and support for white supremacy or the voice he lends to the 
wildest and most discredited conspiracy theories the dark right web and 
talk radio can come up with.
  And as ugly as it was to hear, even his stark admission of sexual 
assault against women is separate from the systematic criminal activity 
he has clearly engaged in, much of which he, himself, has admitted 
unwittingly in television interviews.
  His policies are clearly damaging to the moral fabric of the American 
people, but this goes beyond the President's attacks on law 
enforcement, his giveaways to big polluters and operations, his defense 
of the superrich, his assault on Federal workers, the plundering of the 
economy, and the lasting damage he is doing on a daily basis to our 
most important international relationships with allies and foes alike.
  Vice President Pence, with whom I served in this body, is someone I 
disagree with on almost every issue of importance, especially his 
offensive views on homosexuality, women's rights, abortion, race 
relations, immigration, and almost anything else; but by comparison, he 
is better, even if he is wrong on many, many policy issues. Therefore, 
while I do not relish a Pence Presidency, at this point, I feel it is 
an absolute necessity for the good of the country, for the good of our 
people, for the good of the world, and America's place in that world.
  Mr. Speaker, in my letter, I humbly ask, as a proud American, 
patriot, public servant, a dad, a granddad, and a fellow human being, I 
ask the President to resign immediately.
  Please resign and spare the Nation from this ongoing nightmare. Don't 
do this to us. Don't make us go down with you. Step aside, sir, for the 
good of our country and for the good of the world.
  Mr. Speaker, I will include in the Record my letter to the President 
of the United States asking him to resign.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President of the United States.

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