Thank you Speaker Nancy Pelosi - speech given at House impeachment hearing

December 18, 2019:  Colleagues, this morning and every morning when we come together, members rise and pledge allegiance to the flag. 

Every day, all across America, children in school, members of the military, officials and those civically engaged also pledge allegiance to the flag. Let us recall what that pledge says.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic, to the Republic, for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

The Republic for which it stands is what we are here to talk about today. A Republic if we can keep it. We gather today under the dome of this temple of democracy to exercise one of the most solemn powers that this body can take, the impeachment of the President of the United States.

No member, regardless of party or politics, comes to Congress to impeach a president, but every one of us as our first act as a member of Congress stood on this historic house floor before our beautiful American flag and raised our hands in this sacred oath.

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. So help me God.

For 230 years, members have taken that sacred oath, which makes us custodians of the Constitution. When our founders declared independence and established a new nation, they crafted a system of government unlike anyone ever seen before. A Republic starting with the sacred words, we the people. For centuries Americans have fought and died to defend democracy for the people, but very sadly now our founder’s vision of a Republic is under threat from actions from the White House. That is why today, as Speaker of the House, I solemnly and sadly opened the debate on the impeachment of the President of the United States.

If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice. What we are discussing today is the established fact that the president violated the Constitution. It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy. Hundreds of historians, legal scholars, and formal prosecutors regardless of party had stated that the president committed impeachable offenses.

Since today is a national civics lesson, though a sad one, I submit these documents for the record and commend them for students to study.

What we are discussing today is the established fact that the president again violated the Constitution. It is a matter of fact that the president is again, an ongoing threat to our national security and the testimony of decorated war heroes, distinguished diplomats and patriotic career public servants, some of the president’s own appointees over the past weeks have told us this.

The president used the power of his public office to obtain an improper personal political benefit at the expense of America’s national security. When a president weakens a democratic ally that is advancing American security interest by fighting an American adversary, the president weakens America. This abuse of power also jeopardizes the integrity of our elections. All Americans agree that American voters should choose our president, not some foreign government.

The founders understood that it is profoundly corrosive for our democracy, for a president to invite interference in our elections. 

As George Washington, our nation’s patriot under whose gaze, we stand today, warned, “History and experience prove that foreign influence is one of the most painful foes of Republican government,” George Washington.

Sadly, the American people have witnessed further wrongs of the president, which necessitate the Second Article of Impeachment, Obstruction of Congress. When the president’s wrongdoing was revealed, he launched an unprecedented, indiscriminate and categorical campaign of defiance and obstruction.

Never before in the history of our nation have we seen a president declare and act if he is above the law. The president goes even so far as to say and act on this absurdity. When he says, Article Two says, “I can do whatever I want.” No, it doesn’t. That recklessness is a profound violation of the Constitution and our Republic, which endure because of our system of separation of power, three co-equal branches, each a check and balance on the other. A Republic. Again, if we can keep it.

The founder’s great fear of a rogue or corrupt president is the very reason why they enshrined impeachment in the Constitution. As one founder William Davy of North Carolina warned, “Unless the Constitution contained an impeachment provision, a president might spare no efforts or means whatever to get himself reelected.” Another founder, George Mason, insisted that the president who procured his appointment in the first instance through improper and corrupt acts might repeat his guilt and return to power.

We in Congress, Article One the legislative branch, must stand up and make clear to the American people and to all people, that this body still stands by the principles enshrined in the Constitution and defended by generations of Americans.

Last week and observance of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge, members travel to that hallowed ground to express our gratitude to the heroes of freedom, who sacrificed everything to secure victory of freedom over tyranny, not just for America but for the world. The veterans of that battle who were there in their nineties told us how after the war was won, the Europeans to whom they liberated would ask, “Why did you risk us? You don’t know us and give your lives to save us. We’re not Americans.” And our men would say, “We came here to fight for you, not because you are Americans, because we are Americans.”

As our beloved (the late) chairman, Representative Elijah Cummings and oversight committee chair, our North star said, when announcing his support for this action, “When the history books are written about this tumultuous error, I want them to show that I was among those in the House of Representatives who stood up to lawlessness and tyranny.” He also said almost prophetically, “When we are dancing with the angels*, the question will be, what did we do to make sure we kept our democracy intact.” Elijah, as you know, has since passed on. Now he is dancing with the angels and I know that he and all of us here are very proud of the moral courage of members, want to honor the vision of our founders for a Republic, the sacrifice of our men and women in uniform to defend it, and the aspirations of our children to live freely within it. Today, we are here to defend democracy for the people. May God bless America.

*In my vision of heaven, just my personal opinion, Rep. Cummings was a spirit in the House, during Speaker Pelosi's speech.