[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2020)]
[House]
[Page H642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IMPEACHMENT TRIAL NEEDS WITNESSES

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, the impeachment of President Donald Trump 
has forced our Nation into a constitutional crisis.
  On the one hand, Democrats have led a good faith effort to discover 
the truth and hold President Trump and his administration responsible 
for their destructive and corrupt actions in Ukraine. While on the 
other hand, Republicans have refused outright to meaningfully engage in 
the fact-finding process.
  In our House, Republicans have ignored the fact that Russia has 
invaded Ukraine, a sovereign nation. Ukraine is a scrimmage line for 
liberty in Europe today, a continent whose liberty we restored and paid 
a deep price for it.
  Despite overwhelming evidence in the Senate, Republicans have 
complained they have learned nothing new from the impeachment trial. 
Yet, they have voted over 10 times to block new evidence and witnesses.
  For instance, it is clear that President Trump's former National 
Security Advisor John Bolton's testimony has relevance to the Senate's 
efforts to find the truth--the truth. Bolton has firsthand knowledge of 
the administration's duplicitous actions in Ukraine and President 
Trump's malintent. Yet, Republicans in the Senate have refused to 
subpoena Bolton, despite his statement that he is willing to testify.
  Additionally, this week, The New York Times reported that President 
Trump told his former National Security Advisor John Bolton that he 
wanted the $391 million in security assistance to Ukraine frozen--a 
nation at war--until Ukrainian officials agreed to carry out 
investigations into Democrats and the Bidens.
  According to a manuscript written by Bolton, such a claim is relevant 
and warrants immediate investigation by Congress. Yet, Politico 
reported today that Republican leadership in the Senate remains opposed 
to additional witnesses, including Bolton, though dissent is emerging 
in their ranks.
  Mr. Speaker, I feel strongly that if the Senate fails to allow 
additional witnesses relevant to the impeachment trial and subsequently 
votes to acquit, such inaction will set a dangerous and perhaps even 
irreversible precedent, one that allows the executive branch to ignore 
congressional oversight with impunity.
  Today, President Trump has refused to comply with any congressional 
subpoenas obstructing justice, even going a step further as to block 
any and intimidate executive branch officials from cooperating with the 
House investigation.
  An executive branch unaccountable to Congress, the branch of 
government most connected with the American people, is a dangerous 
prospect. We cannot allow this to become the new norm.
  Ours is a nation of laws, not men or women. Laws protect us. The 
balance of power between our three branches of government at the local, 
State, and Federal levels is the only protection we have from 
ourselves.
  Our Founders wrote into our Constitution the means to hold a lawless 
President accountable and remove him from office. The rule of law is 
sacred, and that is why no one is above the law.
  Regardless of anyone's opinions of President Trump, personal 
affections are not the issue. The issue at hand is independent of party 
or politics. The question is: Who among us will sit silent and allow 
the voice of the people to be trampled, and who will rise up to keep 
the Presidency accountable to our Republic?
  Mr. Speaker, I have had the privilege to serve alongside public 
servants in both parties. While I have had disagreements with 
Republican colleagues on policy, I remain immensely thankful for their 
bipartisanship in so many ways and willingness to engage on issues to 
strengthen our Nation's national security and improve the lives of 
working people, calling many Republicans, actually, my friends.
  But that is why, Mr. Speaker, I am so disappointed today. My 
Republican colleagues have so far failed to act in defense of our 
democracy. They seem to live in an alternate reality from our own.
  The American people have made it clear they want additional witnesses 
to ensure a fair trial. They want to hear what Ambassador Bolton and 
other witnesses have to say. Senate Republicans should let them testify 
under oath.
  Finally, I enter into the Congressional Record the words of Dr. 
Daniel Rapport, a constituent and a distinguished medical doctor at the 
University of Toledo Medical Center, urging the Senate to convict 
President Trump.
  His words: ``The impeachment of President Trump has forced our Nation 
into a constitutional crisis. If the Senate fails to hold President 
Trump accountable, as is its constitutional duty, then a dangerous 
precedent will be set, one that empowers the executive branch to ignore 
congressional oversight with impunity.
  ``Combined with the increasing power of the executive in recent 
decades, in addition to the President's veto power, the capacity of the 
legislative branch to rein in the executive will be ever more limited, 
weakening the American's people will in their own government.
  ``This is an outcome that must be avoided at all costs. The Senate 
alone has the power to do what is right to preserve the balance of 
power between the legislative and executive branches. The Senate must 
vote to convict President Trump.''
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to refrain from 
engaging in personalities toward the President.

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