[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 28 (Saturday, February 13, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S742-S743]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              IMPEACHMENT

  Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Madam President, the Constitution reserves 
impeachment for cases of ``treason, bribery, or other high crimes and 
misdemeanors.'' Congress must never take this action lightly and only 
in the most extreme circumstances.
  On January 13, the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach 
Donald Trump on a count of inciting the insurrection that took place on 
January 6.
  I have taken care over the past week to fulfill my charge as an 
impartial juror in this trial. I have listened carefully to the 
presentations made by both sides. And I believe the House impeachment 
managers proved the case that Donald Trump bears responsibility for 
inciting the violence and the insurrection on January 6.
  I therefore cast my vote to convict him of the impeachment charge. 
The argument has been made that Donald Trump is no longer President, 
thus he cannot be removed from office, as he has already left. I 
understand the argument, but it fails on several counts.
  First, failure to act would set the precedent that a President can 
get away with anything at the end of his term. Relying on criminal 
proceedings in place of impeachment is insufficient; Congress must have 
the power to impeach, regardless of when actions occur. Indeed, the 
House approved the Article of Impeachment when Donald Trump was still 
president.
  Second, there is legitimate fear that, if allowed to run for office 
again, we could see an emboldened Trump wouldn't hesitate to repeat the 
actions of January 6. If convicted, a simple majority vote would bar 
him from running for office.
  And third, a conviction would send a clear message to Trump's 
followers, particularly the ones who accept violence as a legitimate 
means of protest, that perpetrators of insurrection and those who 
enabled them will be held responsible for their action.
  As impeachment manager Diana DeGette said of the mob at the Capitol: 
``All of these people who have been arrested and charged, they're being 
accountable, held accountable for their actions. Their leader, the man 
who incited them, must be held accountable as well.''

[[Page S743]]

  It is important to understand that Donald Trump's actions on January 
6 weren't without precedent. The House impeachment managers made a 
compelling case that Donald Trump has a long history of urging and 
supporting violence among his supporters, knowing full well that they 
would take action.
  This is a key matter for this impeachment trial: Did Donald Trump's 
words inspire violence? Were those carrying out the insurrection 
following his direction? The House managers gave several examples of 
Trump's past practice.
  After Republican Congressman Greg Gianforte in 2018 pleaded guilty to 
assaulting a reporter who asked him a question, former President Trump 
praised him. ``Any guy that can do a body slam--he's my guy.''
  After a 2017 rally of White supremacists and neo-Nazis turned violent 
in Charlottesville and killed a woman, former President Trump said 
there were ``very fine people on both sides.''
  Last year, Trump sent a message for his followers to ``liberate 
Michigan.'' Weeks later, messages threatening violence were directed 
against Governor Gretchen Whitmer. And later in the fall, a plot to 
kidnap Governor Whitmer emerged, led by Trump followers. President 
Trump made a call to action, and his followers responded.
  And during the 2020 Presidential debates, when Donald Trump was asked 
if he would condemn White supremacists and other groups like the Proud 
Boys, a far-right group that endorses violence, he wouldn't answer, 
instead saying, ``Proud Boys--stand back and stand by.''
  It is clear that Donald Trump's supporters, including those who 
participated in the insurrection on January 6, heeded his words and 
support of violence. The Proud Boys took Trump's words--``stand back 
and stand by''--and made it their official motto. Rioters at the 
Capitol told U.S. Capitol Police officers as they were threatening 
violence that they had been ``invited'' by President Trump. While the 
insurrection was going on, Trump supporters were reading Trump's tweets 
over a megaphone. The pattern is clear: Donald Trump has no qualms 
about asking his followers to commit violence. In fact, he celebrates 
them when they do.
  After the November 2020 elections, Donald Trump immediately set out 
to undermine the results. His lawyers and his supporters filed 60 
lawsuits to object to the results, as was his right under the law. But 
when those cases were tossed out, then-President Trump sought to cheat. 
He urged the secretary of state for Georgia to ``find'' enough votes to 
declare him the victor. When officials rebuffed his efforts to reverse 
his electoral loss, he led efforts to bring thousands of people to 
Washington to, in his words, ``Stop the Steal.''
  The day he chose was January 6, the day Congress was meeting to 
certify the election results. Trump directed his followers to go to the 
Capitol and to ``fight like hell.'' As was documented extensively in 
this trial, Trump knew that this group was preparing for violence when 
he directed them to walk to the Capitol.
  What we learned this week is that Donald Trump was also aware of the 
violence at the Capitol as a frenzied insurrection mob ransacked the 
Capitol and sought to physically harm Members of Congress and even kill 
the Vice President. After being told that Vice President had been 
removed from the Senate Chamber for his safety, Trump tweeted to his 
supporters that Pence lacked ``courage'' to reject the electoral 
college results. This happened precisely as Trump's supporters were 
building a gallows and chanting ``Hang Mike Pence.''
  Indeed, new information revealed during the course of this trial 
indicates that President Trump knew the state of violence in the 
Capitol. One Senator has stated publicly that he told President Trump 
on the phone that Vice President Pence had been removed from the Senate 
Chamber by his Secret Service detail.
  We have also heard on-the-record reports that in a phone call between 
President Trump and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy while the 
Leader's office was under attack, then-President Trump apparently 
continued to support those carrying out the violent insurrection. So 
despite direct pleas from Members of Congress and the former 
President's closest Republican confidants, Trump refused for hours to 
call off the mob or urge calm.
  As House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin said during the 
presentation, ``Donald Trump surrendered his role as commander-in-chief 
and became the inciter-in-chief of a dangerous insurrection.''
  Five people, including a U.S. Capitol Police Officer, lost their 
lives as a result of this insurrection guided by Donald Trump. And 
nearly 140 officers from the Capitol Police and Washington Metropolitan 
Police Department were injured, some severely.
  The evidence presented this week shows that Donald Trump committed 
high crimes and misdemeanors and that he should be convicted.
  I thank the House managers for their hard work in making a thoroughly 
compelling, convincing, and fair case, and I hope we can move past this 
terrible moment in our Nation's history.

                          ____________________