[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 116 (Thursday, July 11, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H5588-H5589]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               IT IS TIME TO BEGIN AN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Gallego) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, no President in the history of our country 
has ever been subject to as many credible allegations of illegal 
conduct as Donald Trump.
  Given the serious nature of these crimes and the President's refusal 
to cooperate with congressional investigations, it is time for the 
House of Representatives to begin an impeachment inquiry.
  The Mueller report documented compelling evidence that the President 
obstructed justice, including numerous attempts to shut down the 
Mueller investigation.
  Despite the strong evidence, DOJ policies prohibited the special 
counsel from even considering bringing charges against a sitting 
President. So, Congress has a responsibility to act where Mueller left 
off.
  For the past several months, Trump, his Attorney General, and 
congressional Republicans have outright lied about the contents and 
findings of the Mueller report. The Trump administration has repeatedly 
rejected or undermined congressional subpoenas and obstructed the 
ability of Congress to get the facts for the American people.
  Launching an impeachment inquiry is a necessary step to ensure that 
we get to the bottom of Trump's wrongdoing. It honors the process that 
our Founding Fathers enshrined in our Constitution to empower Congress 
to investigate and hold the President accountable for committing high 
crimes and misdemeanors.
  I believe that impeachment inquiry should examine the actions and 
conduct documented in the Mueller report, but an impeachment inquiry 
should not be limited to just those matters. Congress has the 
responsibility to investigate the broad range of Trump's conduct as 
part of our inquiry.
  With all the tweets and daily distractions, we cannot lose sight of 
the much broader scope of Trump's alleged wrongdoing: more than a dozen 
accusations of sexual assault; campaign finance violations, including 
hush-money payments; illegal foreign contributions to the Trump 
inaugural committee; illegal misuse of the Trump Foundation charity for 
personal and political purposes; welcoming foreign interference in U.S. 
elections; mishandling top-secret information; and abusing the security 
clearance process for his son-in-law. And we shouldn't overlook how 
inappropriate it is for the President of the United States to engage in 
constant, daily lying.
  The list, unfortunately, goes on and on.
  Trump's actions should concern every single Member of Congress and 
every American citizen, regardless of what side of the aisle we are on. 
This activity and behavior call into question Trump's fitness to serve 
as President of the United States and Commander in Chief.

[[Page H5589]]

  As a marine and as a Member of Congress, I swore to protect the 
Constitution of the United States, and I will not stand by as Donald 
Trump erodes the rule of law and our democracy. It is time for Congress 
to launch an impeachment investigation against President Trump.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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