[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S201-S202]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMPEACHMENT

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, today it appears that the House 
Democrat majority will finally stand behind its decision to impeach the 
President of the United States. Last year, the House of Representatives 
rushed through the least thorough and most unclear impeachment inquiry 
in American history. They took just 12 weeks--12 weeks.
  There was more than a year of hearings before the impeachment of 
President Nixon. There were multiple years of investigation for 
President Clinton. When people are serious about compiling evidence and 
proving a case, these things take time.
  That is not what happened this time. House Democrats performed a pale 
imitation of a real inquiry. They did not pursue their own subpoenas 
through the courts. They declined to litigate potential questions of 
privilege. They pulled the plug as soon as Speaker Pelosi realized she 
had enough Democrat votes to achieve a political outcome.
  This isn't really about Ukraine policy or military assistance money. 
It can't be because, for one thing, prominent Democrats were promising 
to impeach President Trump years--years--before those events even 
happened.
  The day this President was inaugurated, the Washington Post said: 
``The campaign to impeach President Trump has begun.'' That was the day 
he was inaugurated, stated in the Washington Post.
  More than 2 years ago, Congressman Jerry Nadler was campaigning to be 
the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, specifically because 
he was an impeachment expert.
  Just a few weeks ago, when a reporter asked Speaker Pelosi why the 
Democrats were in such a hurry, here is her response:

       Speed? It's been going on for 22 months. Two and a half 
     years, actually.

  That is really interesting--really, really interesting. The events 
over which the Democrats want to impeach happened just 6 months ago--
just 6 months ago--not 2\1/2\ years ago.
  So how has impeachment been underway for 2\1/2\ years? The Speaker 
tried to say she was referring to the Mueller investigation, except the 
House couldn't impeach on the Mueller investigation because the facts 
let them down; remember?
  The House impeached over events in Ukraine, events that happened only 
6 months ago, but they still admit this was years in the making. It was 
not some earnest factfinding mission that brought us to where we are. 
This is not about the nuances of foreign assistance to Eastern Europe. 
This has been naked partisanship all along--naked partisanship all 
along.

[[Page S202]]

  If that weren't already obvious, our colleague the Senate Democratic 
leader helpfully removed any shred of doubt just this past weekend. 
Here is what he said: He told reporters that as long as he can try to 
use the trial to hurt some Republican Senators' reelection chances, 
then whatever happens, ``it's a win-win.'' That is what the Democratic 
leader said. This is a stunning statement.
  Presidential impeachment may be the gravest process our Constitution 
contemplates. It undoes the people's decision in a national election. 
Going about it in this subjective, unfair, and rushed way is corrosive 
to our institutions. It hurts national unity, and it virtually 
guarantees--guarantees--that future Houses of either party will feel 
free--free--to impeach any future President because they don't like 
him. If you don't like him, impeach him. That is the message coming out 
of this.
  But as long as our colleague the Democratic leader can weaponize this 
process in the next election, he thinks ``it's a win-win.'' That really 
says it all; doesn't it? That really sums it up.
  This partisanship led House Democrats to cross a rubicon that every 
other House of Representatives had avoided for 230 years. They passed 
the first Presidential impeachment that does not even allege an actual 
crime under our laws. We had a 230-year tradition of rejecting purely 
political impeachments, and it died last month in this House of 
Representatives.
  So Speaker Pelosi and the House have taken our Nation down a 
dangerous road. If the Senate blesses this unprecedented and dangerous 
House process by agreeing that an incomplete case and a subjective 
basis are enough to impeach a President, we will almost guarantee the 
impeachment of every future President of either party when the House 
doesn't like that President.
  This grave process of last constitutional resort will be watered down 
into the kind of anti-democratic recall measure that the Founding 
Fathers explicitly--explicitly--did not want.
  The Senate was designed to stabilize our institutions, to break 
partisan fevers, and to stop short-term passions from destroying our 
long-term future. House Democrats may have descended into pure 
factionalism, but the U.S. Senate must not.
  This is the only body that can consider all factors presented by the 
House, decide what has or has not been proven, and choose what outcome 
best serves the Nation. This is what we must do.

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