[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12698-12699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 THE CONSTITUTION TRUMPS THE PRESIDENT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, August 4, 2017

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2017, with his right 
hand placed on the historic Lincoln Bible, Donald Trump uttered the 
most important sentence of his life: ``I do solemnly swear that I will 
faithfully execute the office of President of the United States and 
will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the 
Constitution of the United States.''
  These 35 words--spoken verbatim by every U.S. President at their 
inauguration--have achieved a hallowed status in our nation's 
collective memory and psyche.
  These 35 words have immense symbolic meaning, but they also possess 
real power.
  They are enshrined in Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution, 
the blueprint for our democratic system of government and the founding 
document upon which our society is built.
  They bind their speaker in an oath to uphold the Chief Office of the 
Executive Branch of the United States.
  These 35 words state, in the starkest of terms, the two fundamental 
duties of the President: to ``take care that the laws be faithfully 
executed'' and to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution.
  Before January 20, 2017, every President, from George Washington to 
Barack Obama,

[[Page 12699]]

had served in elected office or the military, held a government 
position, or been a member of the bar prior to entering the Oval 
Office.
  Before January 20, 2017, Donald Trump had never been elected to 
public office, nor served in the military, nor held a position in the 
government, nor been admitted to practice law before the bar.
  This is noteworthy because it means that in his 70 years of living, 
Donald Trump had never taken a public oath to uphold the Constitution 
before January 20, 2017.
  During his campaign, Trump often touted his lack of political 
experience as a strength.
  Since January 20, however, it has become increasingly obvious that 
Trump's career as a real estate mogul, television personality, and 
owner of the Miss Universe beauty pageant has left him wholly 
unequipped to grasp the full weight, scope, meaning of--and the 
obligations he assumed in taking--the Presidential Oath of Office.
  It is the solemn duty of the President to exercise his authority 
consistent with the Constitution and in a manner that supports and 
strengthens the rule of law.
  The Constitution imposes on the Congress the responsibility to hold 
the Chief Executive accountable if he abuses his powers.
  Such is the genius of the Framers who created the system of separated 
powers and checks and balances that are the hallmark of our 
Constitution.
  Congress, especially the House of Representatives, is the political 
branch of the government closest to the people; therefore, if the 
President is called upon to answer for abuses of power, he answers to 
the Congress acting on behalf of the American people.
  As a senior member of Congress and the House Committees on Judiciary 
and Homeland Security, I am ever mindful of my responsibility to 
preserve and protect the pillars of our democracy.
  I answer to my constituents directly and indirectly to all Americans, 
and my publics actions are constrained by my fidelity to the rule of 
law.
  Donald Trump, unfortunately, has yet to grasp this fact or accept 
these democratic constraints.
  This President has repeatedly acted out his selfish desire to 
discredit or eliminate an official investigation into Russian meddling 
in the 2016 Presidential election--as evidenced by his firing of former 
FBI Director James Comey and his contemplated dismissal of Attorney 
General Jeff Sessions and Special Counsel Robert Mueller.
  These actions illustrate a fundamental misunderstanding of, and 
brazen disregard for, the rule of law, checks and balances, and 
separation of powers that define our democracy.
  If Donald Trump fires Special Counsel Mueller, he will set into 
motion a sequence of events eerily reminiscent of one of the darkest 
chapters in our nation's history--the Watergate scandal of 1974.
  In particular, Donald Trump will be reenacting the Saturday Night 
Massacre, when Richard Nixon's order to fire special prosecutor 
Archibald Cox led to the resignations of Attorney General Elliott 
Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William Ruckelshaus.
  The public reaction and congressional response to tile Saturday Night 
Massacre was swift: numerous resolutions of impeachment were quickly 
introduced in Congress, and just nine months later, the House Judiciary 
Committee approved articles of impeachment charging Nixon with 
obstruction of justice.
  As the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, 
Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations, it is my job to take 
a proactive stance on presidential abuses of power that violate the 
Constitution and threaten our democracy.
  I am not alone in my grave concern about this President's attempts to 
circumvent the investigation into the tacit or active involvement of 
his campaign in activities of entities allied with the Russian 
Government to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election.
  With each passing day, the Special Counsel, journalists, Members of 
Congress in both Chambers and on both sides of the aisle, and ordinary 
Americans are coming closer to connecting all the dots.
  For this reason, I have introduced H. Res. 474, a resolution 
condemning any action by this President to remove Special Counsel 
Mueller, impede his investigation, or pardon any person for offenses 
against the United States arising out of Russia's meddling in the 2016 
Presidential Election.
  U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham has stated his intention to introduce 
legislation in the Senate making the firing of a Special Counsel 
appointed to investigate a president or his staff subject to judicial 
review.
  The message to the President is clear and unmistakable: if he takes 
any action to hinder the Special Counsel's investigation into Russian 
interference in the 2016 presidential election, he will provoke a 
bipartisan backlash and be met with a proportionate congressional 
response to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law.
  Mr. Speaker, on January 20, 2017, Donald Trump took an oath--the 
first of his life--to preserve and protect the Constitution and to take 
care that our nation's laws are faithfully executed.
  We, the American people, must all do our part to hold him to his 
word.

                          ____________________