[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.''
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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.
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