[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 9 (Wednesday, January 15, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S242-S243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MESSAGES FROM THE HOUSE

  At 11:15 a.m., a message from the House of Representatives, delivered 
by Mrs. Cole, one of its reading clerks, announced that pursuant to 28 
U.S.C. 629(b), and the order of the House of January 3, 2019, the 
Speaker appoints the following individuals to the Board of the Federal 
Judicial Center Foundation on the part of the House of Representatives 
for a term of 5 years: Ms. Elizabeth J. Cabraser of Sebastopol, 
California and Mr. Peter A. Kraus of Dallas, Texas.
                                  ____

  At 5:36 p.m., a message from the House of Representatives, delivered 
by Ms. Johnson, the Clerk of the House of Representatives, announced 
that the House of Representatives has impeached for high crimes and 
misdemeanors Donald John Trump, President of the United States; the 
House of Representatives adopted articles of impeachment against Donald 
John Trump, which the managers on the part of the House of 
Representatives have been directed to carry to the Senate; and Mr. 
Schiff, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Jeffries, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Crow, 
and Ms. Garcia of Texas, have been appointed such managers.


  HOUSE RESOLUTION 755, IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, DECEMBER 18, 
                                  2019

       Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United 
     States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors and 
     that the following articles of impeachment be exhibited to 
     the United States Senate:
       Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 
     Representatives of the United States of America in the name 
     of itself and of the people of the United States of America, 
     against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of 
     America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment 
     against him for high crimes and misdemeanors.


 =========================== NOTE =========================== 

  
  On page S242, January 15, 2020, second column, the following 
appears: Articles of impeachment exhibited by the House of 
Representatives of the United States of America i11 the name of 
itself and of the people of the United States of America, against 
Donald ,J 01111 Trump, President of the United States of America, 
in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high 
crimes and misdemeanors.
  
  The online Record has been corrected to read: Articles of 
impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in the name of itself and of the people 
of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, 
President of the United States of America, in maintenance and 
support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and 
misdemeanors.


 ========================= END NOTE ========================= 


                       Article I: Abuse of Power

       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 and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to 
     undertake investigations for his personal political benefit.
       These actions were consistent with President Trump's 
     previous imitations 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.

                  Article II: Obstruction of Congress

       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 rump 
     directed Executive

[[Page S243]]

     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.
                                  ____



House Resolution 798, in the House of Representatives, January 15, 2020

       Resolved, That Mr. Schiff, Mr. Nadler, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. 
     Jeffries, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Crow, and Ms. Garcia of Texas are 
     appointed managers to conduct the impeachment trial against 
     Donald John Trump, President of the United States, that a 
     message be sent to the Senate to inform the Senate of these 
     appointments, and that the managers so appointed may, in 
     connection with the preparation and the conduct of the trial, 
     exhibit the articles of impeachment to the Senate and take 
     all other actions necessary, which may include the following:
       (1) Employing legal, clerical and other necessary 
     assistants and incurring such other expenses as may be 
     necessary, to be paid from amounts available to the Committee 
     on the Judiciary under applicable expense resolutions or from 
     the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives.
       (2) Sending for persons and papers, and filing with the 
     Secretary of the Senate, on the part of the House of 
     Representatives, any pleadings, in conjunction with or 
     subsequent to, the exhibition of the articles of impeachment 
     that the managers consider necessary.

                          ____________________