[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 206 (Thursday, December 19, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1626]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




IMPEACHING DONALD JOHN TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, FOR HIGH 
                        CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. K. MICHAEL CONAWAY

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 18, 2019

  Mr. CONAWAY. Madam Speaker, other than authorizing an act of war, 
impeachment is the gravest item that we as a Congress can consider. The 
decision to move forward with impeachment of a United States President 
is so consequential that it has only been done three times in our 
entire nation's history prior to this year, all based on legitimate 
evidence of criminal behavior. Unfortunately, many of my colleagues 
have diminished what should be a solemn and grave proceeding into an 
absolute political circus, simply because they don't like the man 
occupying the White House.
  Many Democrats have been intent on impeaching this President since 
the day he took office. Their actions are clearly motivated by pure 
hatred for President Trump. This impeachment vote today is simply the 
next step in their long-held plan to remove him from office.
  The partisan impeachment investigation run by the House Intelligence 
Committee was unnecessarily held behind closed doors, in a room 
designed to share classified information. Nothing classified was shared 
during these meetings, but the result of this decision was that most 
Members of Congress and all Americans were blocked from hearing the 
facts for themselves.
  It's also critical to remember that the House Intelligence Committee 
had no business conducting the impeachment inquiry to begin with--the 
House Judiciary Committee is the Committee tasked with all 
responsibilities surrounding impeachment in the House of 
Representatives. The Intelligence Committee had no business running 
this investigation at all, let alone running it in secret. As with past 
impeachment investigations, the investigation should have been led by a 
special prosecutor or independent counsel who then would turn over 
their findings to the Judiciary Committee--none of this happened here.
  Chairman Schiff repeatedly withheld crucial information from 
Republicans, including the ability for anyone but himself and his staff 
to speak with the whistle blower at the center of this investigation. 
He was even called out by liberal media outlets for spreading 
misinformation and falsehoods throughout the impeachment process.
  The public hearings were held with complete disregard for the House 
Rules and decades of precedent. Republicans were not allowed to call 
witnesses or make basic parliamentary motions. In fact, the only 
witnesses allowed to testify publicly were those who fit neatly within 
the Democrats' predetermined narrative.
  Most importantly, we have not been presented with any real evidence 
that proves the President is guilty of ``high crimes and 
misdemeanors,'' as required by the Constitution to remove a duly-
elected president. If there were criminal activity, as many Democrats 
have claimed, then why are there no crimes listed in the articles of 
impeachment?
  As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, 
I have had a ringside seat for not only the impeachment proceedings, 
but for the years of investigations into President Trump that preceded 
this one. When I led the Intelligence Committee's Russia Investigation, 
the Democrat minority led by Rep. Schiff was given every opportunity to 
participate, and they did so. They were not treated as a minority 
party, where their objections and right to call witnesses were denied 
as the Democrats did to Republicans in this impeachment investigation. 
I treated them with fairness and dignity and did not cast aspersions on 
them by calling their loyalty to our country or motivations into 
question. The investigation into Russia meddling was thorough and took 
more than fifteen months, during which we interviewed over 70 witnesses 
and poured over more than 300,000 documents. This impeachment 
investigation, by contrast, was rushed through in less than two months, 
with just a handful of witnesses.
  The charade of a fair proceeding was further emphasized with the 
Democrats' refusal to let the defendant offer evidence and produce 
witnesses. The defendant--President Trump--has a right to defend 
himself, a right which was only ceremoniously and speciously offered 
once the investigation and report were completed.
  It is clear--the verdict in the House was predetermined.
  This has been a colossal waste of taxpayer dollars and of Congress' 
time. However, my greatest fear is that it's not over. When Democrats 
found no evidence of collusion during the Russia Investigation, they 
pivoted to the Mueller investigation. When Special Counsel Mueller's 
report did not include anything Democrat's found useful, they refocused 
their efforts once again to hone in on a supposed scandal with Ukraine. 
When this inevitably fails too, what will be the next casualty in their 
desperate attempt to destroy a president they dislike?
  We have forever weakened this body by turning impeachment into a 
political weapon and set a terrible precedent for all future 
Congresses. This impeachment scheme is nothing more than an attempt to 
overturn the 2016 election and to conduct taxpayer-funded opposition 
research and damage the President's electability heading into 2020.
  The American people see right through this charade, and are fed up. 
It's time to stop this madness and get back to the important work the 
American people sent us here to do.

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