[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 192 (Tuesday, December 3, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6796]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Impeachment

  Mr. SCHUMER. Madam President, as the House of Representatives 
continues to hold hearings as part of the impeachment inquiry into 
President Trump, it is incumbent on all of us here in the Senate to 
review the evidence, keep an open mind, and avoid prejudging the case. 
If impeachment articles are served to the Senate, Senators must act as 
judges and jurors, take an oath to do impartial justice, and see to it 
that the Senate conducts a fair trial.
  So I have been hugely disappointed in the partisan conduct of some of 
my colleagues on the Republican side, who, in their rush to defend the 
President, have attacked career public servants and former members of 
the armed services because they didn't like their testimony, and then 
they spread baseless conspiracy theories and use their powers of a 
congressional office to play defense for the President.
  The Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, for example, has 
attempted to send the State Department on a wild fishing expedition for 
documents to support an already debunked rightwing conspiracy theory.
  Meanwhile, the State Department is blocking or delaying the 
production of documents related to several legitimate and ongoing 
investigations, many of which were requested months ago.
  I would expect that Senator Graham's request, outlandish as it is, 
would go at the back of the line. It would be another total debasement 
to the process if Secretary Pompeo were to further politicize the 
production of documents to Congress and say it is OK to release the 
documents that Senator Graham wants but not the ones that the House 
committee wanted. Privilege is privilege. I don't believe it applies in 
each case, but it is privilege. You can't do it to one and not the 
other.
  Also, it is appalling that, in recent days, certain Members on the 
other side of the aisle have repeated the lie invented by Vladimir 
Putin's intelligence services that Ukraine was somehow involved in 2016 
election interference.
  I have a simple message for my Republican colleagues: Stop spreading 
Putin's propaganda.
  By spreading the false and unsupported narrative that Ukraine, not 
just Putin, was responsible for interfering in the 2016 elections, 
Republicans are endangering our democracy and empowering Vladimir Putin 
at the same time. Even wondering aloud about the debunked Ukrainian 
interference theory helps Putin muddy the waters and deflect the blame 
away from his country, which our intelligence services have all 
agreed--I think it is 17 of them--that he interfered in the election. 
He is trying to create a diversion, and our Republican colleagues are 
going along.
  Republicans need to stop putting the wind into the sails of Putin's 
propaganda. More than that, Republicans need to forcefully and 
unequivocally refute the lie that Ukraine had anything to do with 
election interference in 2016.