[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 18 (Tuesday, January 28, 2020)]
[House]
[Pages H578-H579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1215

  Ambassador Bolton's book further confirms this and reveals that he 
was in the room; not a whistleblower; not somebody relying on hearsay, 
in the room with the President, and heard him state clearly that the 
two were linked or, said in another way, that there was a quid for a 
quo, as was alleged in Article I of the Articles of Impeachment. They 
were linked and that congressionally-appropriated military aid to 
Ukraine would not be released until President Zelensky responded to the 
President's personal, political demands.
  Whether you are a lawyer or not, you have watched trials on TV, or 
perhaps been a witness in a trial. A trial is to examine and weigh the 
evidence, all the relevant evidence. That is the definition of a fair 
trial, of a quest for justice trial, a trial in which the jurors are 
impartial and seeking truth; not a trial in which the jurors refuse to 
hear the evidence the prosecution wants to submit.
  It is unheard of that a juror would say, no, I don't want to hear 
that evidence. The juror's duty is to hear the evidence and to seek the 
truth. And the witnesses raise their hand, swear to tell the truth, the 
whole truth, and nothing but the truth; the whole truth, a key phrase 
in that witness' oath.
  That, of course, includes Ambassador Bolton's testimony, the whole 
truth; what he heard directly from the President, as well as others who 
have firsthand knowledge of facts relevant to the truth or falsity of 
the allegations; in this case, abuse of power and obstruction of 
justice.
  And, of course, so many of those witnesses have been ordered by the 
President not to tell the truth, not to testify, to fight subpoenas of 
the Congress of the United States.
  A juror cannot be impartial if he or she willfully ignores evidence 
upon which the case might turn.

[[Page H579]]

  As a Washington Post editorial stated powerfully yesterday:

       If Senators fail to summon Bolton, whom they were talking 
     about, they will turn the Senate trial into a farce.

  I might use the words show trial. We are familiar with show trials. 
Show trials are to pretend that you are seeking justice while you 
exonerate, theoretically, a guilty party.
  I will remind Members of the iconic Japanese monkeys, the macaques. 
The three of them sit and see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. I 
would characterize that as a see no evil, hear no evil, speak no truth 
juror. Keeping your eyes shut and ears plugged is refusing to hear, 
refusing to weigh the facts. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no truth.
  In the old Supreme Court Chamber, if you visit that, you will see 
Lady Justice, a statue, with no blindfold. We hear that justice is 
blind. Justice cannot be blind. Justice must see the facts. It must see 
the equities. It must see who said what, when, where, how, and make a 
judgment.
  A great legislator and contemporary of our Founders, Edmund Burke, 
once said, ``The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for 
good men to do nothing.''
  This is a serious time in America. We will judge whether or not party 
is above principle; whether truth is trumped by see no evil, hear no 
evil, speak no truth.
  Madam Speaker, I implore the good men and women of the United States 
Senate, do not do nothing, which Edmund Burke said was the only thing 
necessary for evil to triumph. Do something that will secure your place 
in history to be remembered for your courage, your honesty, and 
honoring your oath.
  Allow witnesses like Ambassador Bolton to be heard. Allow a fair and 
impartial trial.
  Madam Speaker, I believe that is what the American people are looking 
for. They are pretty divided on whether or not this is an impeachable 
offense. I get that. That is a legitimate argument to make.
  But what is not legitimate is not to listen to the evidence. Senators 
must now do their duty to their oaths, to our Constitution, and to its 
authors, and to the cause of truth itself, to allow Ambassador Bolton 
and other witnesses to be heard.
  I urge Senators to uncover their eyes, uncover their ears. The 
American people and history are waiting to hear truth from them. They 
are waiting for the Senate trial to seek the truth, the whole truth, 
and nothing but the truth.

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