[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 164 (Thursday, October 17, 2019)]
[House]
[Pages H8203-H8204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMPEACHMENT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Dakota (Mr. Johnson) for 5 minutes.

[[Page H8204]]

  

  Mr. JOHNSON of South Dakota. Mr. Speaker, since I joined this body in 
January, I have done my darnedest to steer clear of the political 
circus that we see on a daily basis in Washington.
  Instead, I have worked with so many Members to pass legislation 
preventing child abuse and legislation that makes it easier for 
Americans to save for school and for their retirement. We have made 
progress, and I have been a key part of that progress in USMCA, in 
welfare reform, and in implementing the farm bill.
  But, Mr. Speaker, the impeachment proceedings going on in this 
Chamber in the last few weeks have given me pause, and they should give 
pause to every Member of this Chamber and to all American people.
  I know--we all know--that some Members are for impeachment and others 
of us are opposed. But we should all admit that, by its very nature, 
impeachment is emotional, it is taxing, and it is divisive.
  You are talking about removing our President from office. This is no 
small thing. This is changing the trajectory of this country.
  Given how contentious and given how important that proceeding is, we 
have an obligation to play by the rules and to have a process that is 
open, that is sound, and that is fair. Mr. Speaker, we are failing at 
that special obligation.
  First, the Speaker has launched impeachment without a vote by this 
body, and that is unprecedented. Members have been denied their 
authority, their voice, their opportunity to be on the Record in that 
matter.
  Let us be clear: Under the Constitution, the authority to launch 
impeachment rests with the U.S. House of Representatives, not with the 
Speaker and not with the chair of House intelligence.
  Second, this proceeding has not been open and transparent. Instead, 
Members have been denied access to witness testimony and kicked out of 
committees. There is no live streaming and there is no TV coverage as 
we have seen in past impeachments. The result is that Americans don't 
have access to important facts because they can't get them.
  Finally, this proceeding has not been fair. In the past, Presidents 
have had an opportunity to have counsel present. Counsel has had an 
opportunity to cross-examine witnesses, and they have been given an 
opportunity to review the evidence and to prepare a defense instead of 
battling secondhand accounts of closed-door testimony selectively 
leaked to the media.
  228 Members of this body have already announced that they are for 
impeachment even though the evidence is not fully gathered yet, and, in 
any case, they have not reviewed it. How is that fair?
  Mr. Speaker, elections matter; transparency matters; due process 
matters; and faith in this Constitution, in our Constitution, and in 
institutions matter.
  As I said, it is time that this body lives up to its special 
obligation. Our country deserves nothing less.

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