[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 205 (Wednesday, December 18, 2019)]
[Daily Digest]
[Pages D1400-D1402]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




[[Page D1400]]




                        House of Representatives


Chamber Action
 Public Bills and Resolutions Introduced: 19 public bills, H.R. 5471-
5489; and 2 resolutions, H. Res. 770 and 771, were introduced. 
                                                        Pages H12209-10
Additional Cosponsors:                                  
  Pages H12211-12
Report Filed: A report was filed today as follows:
  H.R. 3787, to amend the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to establish in 
the Department of Homeland Security an Unmanned Aircraft Systems 
Coordinator, and for other purposes, with an amendment (H. Rept. 116-
356).                                                       
Page H12209
Speaker: Read a letter from the Speaker wherein she appointed 
Representative DeGette to act as Speaker pro tempore for today. 
                                                            Page H12113
Motion to Adjourn: Rejected the Biggs motion to adjourn by a yea-and-
nay vote of 188 yeas to 226 nays, Roll No. 691.         
  Pages H12113-14
Question of Privilege: Representative McCarthy rose to a question of 
the privileges of the House and submitted a resolution. Upon 
examination of the resolution, the Chair determined that the resolution 
qualified. Subsequently, the House agreed to the Hoyer motion to table 
H. Res. 770, raising a question of the privileges of the House, by a 
recorded vote of 226 ayes to 191 noes, Roll No. 692.    
  Pages H12114-15
Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high 
crimes and misdemeanors: The House agreed to H. Res. 755, impeaching 
Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and 
misdemeanors, and adopted Articles I and II.        
  Pages H12115-H12206
  Pursuant to the Rule, the amendment in the nature of a substitute 
recommended by the Committee on the Judiciary now printed in the 
resolution shall be considered as adopted.                  
Page H12131
  Article I: Abuse of Power. By a yea-and-nay vote of 230 yeas to 197 
nays with one answering ``present'', Roll No. 695, the House adopted 
Article 1 of H. Res. 755: The Constitution provides that the House of 
Representatives ``shall have the sole Power of Impeachment'' and that 
the President ``shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and 
Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and 
Misdemeanors''. In his conduct of the office of President of the United 
States--and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to 
execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best 
of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed--Donald J. Trump has abused the 
powers of the Presidency, in that: Using the powers of his high office, 
President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, 
Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election. He did so 
through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the 
Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would 
benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political 
opponent, and influence the 2020 United States Presidential election to 
his advantage. President Trump also sought to pressure the Government 
of Ukraine to take these steps by conditioning official United States 
Government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public 
announcement of the investigations. President Trump engaged in this 
scheme or course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal 
political benefit. In so doing, President Trump used the powers of the 
Presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the 
United States and undermined the integrity of the United States 
democratic process. He thus ignored and injured the interests of the 
Nation. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct 
through the following means: (1) President Trump--acting both directly 
and through his agents within and outside the United States 
Government--corruptly solicited the Government of Ukraine to publicly 
announce investigations into--(A) a political opponent, former Vice 
President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.; and (B) a discredited theory promoted 
by Russia alleging that Ukraine--rather than Russia--interfered in the 
2016 United States Presidential election. (2) With the same corrupt 
motives, President Trump--acting both directly and through his agents 
within and outside the United States Government--conditioned two 
official acts on the public announcements that he had requested--(A) 
the release of $391 million of United States taxpayer funds that 
Congress had appropriated on a bipartisan basis for the purpose of 
providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose 
Russian aggression and which President Trump had ordered suspended; and 
(B) a head of state meeting at the White House, which the President of 
Ukraine sought to demonstrate continued United States support for the 
Government of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. (3) Faced with 
the public revelation of his actions, President Trump ultimately 
released the military and security assistance to the Government of 
Ukraine, but has persisted in openly

[[Page D1401]]

and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations 
for his personal political benefit. These actions were consistent with 
President Trump's previous invitations of foreign interference in 
United States elections. In all of this, President Trump abused the 
powers of the Presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and 
other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal political 
benefit. He has also betrayed the Nation by abusing his high office to 
enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections. Wherefore 
President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain 
a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain 
in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-
governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants 
impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to 
hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United 
States.                                                 
Pages H12130-31
  Article II: Obstruction of Congress. By a recorded vote of 229 ayes 
to 198 noes with one answering ``present'', Roll No. 696, the House 
adopted Article 2 of H. Res. 755: The Constitution provides that the 
House of Representatives ``shall have the sole Power of Impeachment'' 
and that the President ``shall be removed from Office on Impeachment 
for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and 
Misdemeanors''. In his conduct of the office of President of the United 
States--and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to 
execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best 
of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the 
United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care 
that the laws be faithfully executed--Donald J. Trump has directed the 
unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas 
issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its ``sole Power of 
Impeachment''. President Trump has abused the powers of the Presidency 
in a manner offensive to, and subversive of, the Constitution, in that: 
The House of Representatives has engaged in an impeachment inquiry 
focused on President Trump's corrupt solicitation of the Government of 
Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 United States Presidential election. 
As part of this impeachment inquiry, the Committees undertaking the 
investigation served subpoenas seeking documents and testimony deemed 
vital to the inquiry from various Executive Branch agencies and 
offices, and current and former officials. In response, without lawful 
cause or excuse, President Trump directed Executive Branch agencies, 
offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas. President 
Trump thus interposed the powers of the Presidency against the lawful 
subpoenas of the House of Representatives, and assumed to himself 
functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the ``sole Power 
of Impeachment'' vested by the Constitution in the House of 
Representatives. President Trump abused the powers of his high office 
through the following means: (1) Directing the White House to defy a 
lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought 
therein by the Committees. (2) Directing other Executive Branch 
agencies and offices to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the 
production of documents and records from the Committees--in response to 
which the Department of State, Office of Management and Budget, 
Department of Energy, and Department of Defense refused to produce a 
single document or record. (3) Directing current and former Executive 
Branch officials not to cooperate with the Committees--in response to 
which nine Administration officials defied subpoenas for testimony, 
namely John Michael ``Mick'' Mulvaney, Robert B. Blair, John A. 
Eisenberg, Michael Ellis, Preston Wells Griffith, Russell T. Vought, 
Michael Duffey, Brian McCormack, and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl. These actions 
were consistent with President Trump's previous efforts to undermine 
United States Government investigations into foreign interference in 
United States elections. Through these actions, President Trump sought 
to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and 
nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct, as well as the 
unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the House of 
Representatives in the exercise of its ``sole Power of Impeachment''. 
In the history of the Republic, no President has ever ordered the 
complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and 
impede so comprehensively the ability of the House of Representatives 
to investigate ``high Crimes and Misdemeanors''. This abuse of office 
served to cover up the President's own repeated misconduct and to seize 
and control the power of impeachment--and thus to nullify a vital 
constitutional safeguard vested solely in the House of Representatives. 
In all of this, President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his 
trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the 
great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest 
injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore, President Trump, 
by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the 
Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner 
grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. 
President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from 
office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, 
trust, or profit under the United States.                   
Page H12131

[[Page D1402]]


  H. Res. 767, the rule providing for consideration of the resolution 
(H. Res. 755) was agreed to by a recorded vote of 228 ayes to 197 noes, 
Roll No. 694, after the previous question was ordered by a yea-and-nay 
vote of 229 yeas to 197 nays, Roll No. 693.
Quorum Calls--Votes: Three yea-and-nay votes and three recorded votes 
developed during the proceedings of today and appear on pages H12113-
14, H12115, H12129-30, H12130, H12205-06, and H12206. There were no 
quorum calls.
Adjournment: The House met at 9 a.m. and adjourned at 8:52 p.m.