All together now for the Constitution and the rule of law!
All seven of Washington’s [Democratic] U.S. House members are now calling for an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump. U.S. Senator Patty Murray also voiced support for an inquiry.
On Sunday, Reps. Kim Schrier, of Sammamish; Suzan DelBene, of Medina; Derek Kilmer, of Gig Harbor; and Denny Heck, of Olympia, cited corruption, obstruction of justice and failure to protect elections from foreign interference as justifications for an impeachment inquiry, which would be a first step in a lengthy process.
Here are their statements in their entirety.
Kim Schrier:
Every week, I board a five hour flight from Washington, D.C. to come home to my family and to the people of the 8th District who I was elected to serve. Washington, D.C. is a very busy place that doesn’t allow a lot of time for reflection, but the long trip home sure does.
This week, as I departed D.C. for a six week district work period, I thought about my constituents, and the promise I made to them to serve and protect their interests when I’m in the other Washington. On the flight home, I was able to finish listening to the five hours of Robert Mueller’s testimony — hearing it all laid out so concisely reinforced just how many lines of inquiry still need to be pursued.
If I had done any one of the things that our president had done to obstruct justice or act against the interest of this country, I would be in jail. The American people — and the people of the 8th District — deserve to know that no one is above the law.
Thinking about that, it became intolerably frustrating to consider how every effort to seek that information has been slow walked or obstructed, consistent with so much of the behavior made plain in the Mueller report. The American people deserve to know what transpired and to what extent our president is acting against the best interests of our nation. Russia is meddling, and this poses immediate danger.
I have come to believe that stepping these congressional investigations up to the level of an impeachment inquiry will be required to get timely access to the information we need for our national security and national conscience.
I know the people of the 8th District elected me to protect their health care, fight for their families, and protect our environment, and those will always remain my focus while I have the privilege of serving them in Congress. But they also elected me uphold the Constitution and protect our national security interests.
And so, I am formally calling for an impeachment inquiry.
Derek Kilmer:
I came to Congress with two goals in mind: to see the economy work better for people in my region and to see government work better for them. I don’t want to see a government that is dysfunctional, corrupt, and unable to make progress on delivering health care, jobs, and education for the folks I represent.
That’s why I chose to seek this job. It’s why I get on a plane each week and spend time away from my wife and daughters.
In the past few years, it has often been disheartening to see our government become more polarized and less accountable to the American people. Perhaps nowhere has that been more evident than in the actions of President Trump.
I’ve long raised concerns about his policies.
Each time that I pray that he will appeal to the better angels of our nature, he instead embraces rhetoric and actions that seek only to divide us further. But as objectionable as I have found such rhetoric and as unacceptable as I have found such policies, they do not rise to the level of impeachment.
However, the evidence laid out in the Mueller Report – and the testimony of Director Mueller that amplified it – commands a higher level of concern. I have read the Mueller Report – when it was first released and again in the days leading up to his testimony. The clear evidence of corruption has already led to multiple indictments and guilty pleas by the president’s national security advisor, personal attorney, and the chairman of his campaign.
The president’s open acceptance of support from Russians was undeniably disruptive to the integrity of our democracy. We are now learning that the Russians penetrated election systems in all 50 states. This ongoing threat is real, and it is the duty of both parties to protect our democracy from a similar assault in 2020.
But perhaps most troubling is the evidence – on multiple occasions – of obstruction of justice.
The details of the president’s actions – from his interactions with former FBI Director James Comey, to his persistent efforts to limit the scope of the Mueller Investigation, to his actions seeking to influence testimony of others (many who ended up being indicted themselves) – cannot be ignored. In fact, more than 1,000 former federal prosecutors – Democrats and Republicans – have said that the evidence would be sufficient to prosecute the president on obstruction charges.
Opening an impeachment inquiry is disruptive and it may further polarize a country that is already far too divided. These factors have consistently given me pause. Beyond that, I have great respect for the leaders in the House and the committee chairs that have suggested a step-by-step approach. I respect their judgment and their leadership, and I agree that the committees of jurisdiction should continue the important oversight work that they have begun and pursue the facts. I have grappled with the fact that the Senate may dismiss even the strongest evidence. Indeed, the Senate may exonerate the president.
In my view, the incidents of obstruction and of foreign interference cited in the Mueller report should not be dismissed based on politics, party biases, or the fear of some predicted outcome.
Moreover, I believe Congress can continue working to deliver on health care, education and jobs while also following the evidence and upholding its obligations under the Constitution.
The American people deserve no less.
At the end of the day, I come back to the reason I came to Congress in the first place. I want to see more folks I represent have good jobs, quality health care, and top-notch educational opportunities and I’m committed to continuing to work every day toward those ends.
But I also came to Congress because I want to see government work better for the people I represent. I don’t want a government that is corrupt. I don’t want the lesson to my daughters – or to any Americans – to be that actions like these are acceptable.
Obstructing justice and accepting assistance from foreign governments simply cannot be a standard that we accept.
The rule of law needs to mean something. The integrity of our democracy needs to mean something. With that clear focus, I support the House of Representatives beginning an impeachment inquiry.
Denny Heck:
For many months multiple committees of the House have been engaged in investigations both of potentially illegal acts by President Trump related to Russia’s “sweeping and systematic” interference in the 2016 election and of the President’s response to investigations into that interference.
As a member of the House Intelligence Committee, I’ve been deeply involved in that effort. I’ve sat through hundreds of hours of closed and open testimony, read and reread the findings of the Office of the Special Counsel (the Mueller Report), and spoken with and listened to the people of the Tenth Congressional District.
In last week’s hearings, I also had the opportunity to hear directly from Special Counsel Mueller and, along with my colleagues, to personally engage him in questions. After considerable reflection and prayerful consideration, I’ve reached some conclusions.
First, there is no question that the President encouraged, welcomed and benefited from the interference of a foreign adversary in our 2016 election. Furthermore, he has both refused to fully acknowledge it occurred and even suggested he might welcome such interference again. The White House has also opposed Congressional measures to enhance election security going forward.
This strikes at the very core of our democracy and democratic values. America’s elections are for Americans. Period. Support of free, fair and open elections is not negotiable.
The President has also engaged in an aggressive and active cover-up of the effort to reveal all the facts.
This is particularly true of the many ways in which potential financial conflicts or motivations may have guided the Trump campaign or several of its high-ranking officials. This was the essence of my exchange with Special Counsel Mueller during the hearing last week. Americans deserve to know the full extent of the facts.
Officially initiating an impeachment inquiry substantially strengthens the legal hand of the House to discover all information.
I am familiar with the political arguments against initiating an impeachment inquiry based on the findings to date. For example, some suggest that the Senate is highly unlikely to convict the President should the House impeach him and that his chances of reelection will therefore be enhanced. That may be true.
What is truer is that nothing less than the rule of law is at stake.
Accordingly, I support initiation of an impeachment inquiry by the House Judiciary Committee and will support measures to accomplish this when Congress returns to Washington, D.C.
Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Adam Smith, and Pramila Jayapal previously voiced support for a Trump impeachment inquiry. Now their colleagues are on board. The Democratic side of the Washington State delegation is united.
United States Senator Patty Murray, meanwhile, added a supportive voice of encouragement from across the rotunda. Murray is the third ranking Democrat in the United States Senate, and is always worth paying attention to.
Said Murray in a statement provided to NPI and other media outlets: “I agree with my fellow members of the Washington delegation that, as we have learned more about the gravity of the potential threats to our democracy identified in Special Counsel Mueller’s report, it has become clear the House should begin proceedings to determine whether the President’s actions necessitate impeachment.”
Only a few days ago, pundits and journalists working inside newsrooms in New York and the Beltway were saying Mueller’s appearance on Capitol Hill “hadn’t moved the needle”. Clearly, that analysis was wrong. It just goes to show the perils of jumping to conclusions too early — something that happened repeatedly in 2016. Big media seemingly hasn’t learned too much from that election.
Sunday, July 28th, 2019
Kim Schrier, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer join chorus for Trump impeachment inquiry
All together now for the Constitution and the rule of law!
Here are their statements in their entirety.
Kim Schrier:
Derek Kilmer:
Denny Heck:
Suzan DelBene, Rick Larsen, Adam Smith, and Pramila Jayapal previously voiced support for a Trump impeachment inquiry. Now their colleagues are on board. The Democratic side of the Washington State delegation is united.
United States Senator Patty Murray, meanwhile, added a supportive voice of encouragement from across the rotunda. Murray is the third ranking Democrat in the United States Senate, and is always worth paying attention to.
Said Murray in a statement provided to NPI and other media outlets: “I agree with my fellow members of the Washington delegation that, as we have learned more about the gravity of the potential threats to our democracy identified in Special Counsel Mueller’s report, it has become clear the House should begin proceedings to determine whether the President’s actions necessitate impeachment.”
Only a few days ago, pundits and journalists working inside newsrooms in New York and the Beltway were saying Mueller’s appearance on Capitol Hill “hadn’t moved the needle”. Clearly, that analysis was wrong. It just goes to show the perils of jumping to conclusions too early — something that happened repeatedly in 2016. Big media seemingly hasn’t learned too much from that election.
# Written by Andrew Villeneuve :: 8:19 PM
Categories: Open Government, Policy Topics
Tags: Accountable Leaders
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