[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 207 (Monday, December 23, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1640]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IMPEACHING DONALD JOHN TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR HIGH 
                        CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

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                               speech of

                           HON. DIANA DeGETTE

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 18, 2019

  Ms. DeGETTE. Madam Speaker, on December 18, 2019, due to presiding 
over the House of Representatives, I was unable to speak on the House 
floor during the debate for House Resolution 755--the Impeachment of 
Donald John Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.
  This is a sad and solemn day in our nation's history. None of us came 
to Congress to impeach a president but, when we assumed office, every 
one of us took an oath to uphold the Constitution. The evidence shows 
clearly that President Trump abused his power, put our national 
security at risk and sought to undermine the integrity of our 
elections. When he was caught, he tried to cover it up.
  When a president decides to violate the public's trust by putting his 
own self-interests ahead of the country's--as President Trump has 
done--the House of Representatives has a duty to act. As our nation's 
top constitutional experts have opined, President Trump's conduct is 
precisely what our founders feared. It's why they gave Congress the 
power to remove a president from office, if necessary.
  No one in this country is above the law; and President Trump, by his 
own actions, left us no choice but to approve the articles of 
impeachment against him.

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