Rep. Ruben Gallego Calls for Impeachment Inquiry
WASHINGTON, DC – This morning, Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) called for the House of Representatives to open an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Video of the Congressman's floor speech can be found here.
Rep. Gallego's remarks, as prepared:
"Mr. Speaker,
"No president in the history of our country has ever been subject to as many credible allegations of illegal conduct as Donald Trump.
"Given the serious nature of these crimes and the President's refusal to cooperate with Congressional investigations, it's time for the House of Representatives to begin an impeachment inquiry.
"The Mueller Report documented compelling evidence that the President obstructed justice, including numerous attempts to shut down or influence the Mueller investigation.
"Despite the strong evidence, DOJ policies prohibited the Special Counsel from even considering bringing charges against a sitting President.
"So, Congress has a responsibility to pick up where Mueller left off.
"But for the past several months, Trump, his Attorney General, and congressional Republicans have outright lied about the contents and findings of the Mueller Report.
"The Trump Administration has repeatedly rejected or undermined congressional subpoenas and obstructed the ability of Congress to get the facts for the American people.
"Launching an impeachment inquiry is a necessary step to ensure that we get to the bottom of Trump's wrongdoing.
"It honors the process that our Founding Father's enshrined in our Constitution to empower Congress to investigate and hold the President accountable for committing high crimes and misdemeanors.
"I believe that an impeachment inquiry should examine the actions and conduct documented in the Mueller Report.
"But an impeachment inquiry should not be limited to those matters.
Congress has the responsibility to investigate the broad range of Trump's conduct as part of our inquiry.
"With all the tweets and daily distractions, we cannot lose sight of the much broader scope of Trump's alleged wrongdoing.
• More than a dozen accusations of sexual assault.
• Campaign finance violations, including hush money payments.
• Illegal foreign contributions to the Trump inaugural committee.
• Illegal misuse of the Trump Foundation charity for personal and political purposes.
• Welcoming foreign interference in U.S. elections.
• Mishandling top secret information and abusing the security clearance process for his son-in-law.
• And we shouldn't overlook how inappropriate it is for the President of the United States to engage in constant, daily lying.
"The list unfortunately goes on and on.
"Trump's actions should concern every single member of Congress and every American citizen, regardless of what side of the aisle you are on.
"This activity and behavior call into the question Trump's fitness to serve as President of the United States and Commander in Chief.
"As a Marine and as a Member of Congress, I swore to protect the Constitution, and I will not stand by as Donald Trump erodes the rule of law and our democracy.
"It's time for Congress to launch an impeachment investigation against President Trump.
"Thank you."
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