DON YOUNG: DEMOCRATS ACTING OUT OF HATRED OF TRUMP
House Democrats and Republicans queued up mainly on party lines on Thursday, with just two Democrats voting against moving ahead on a formal impeachment inquiry on President Trump.
The final vote was 232-196, with House Republicans sticking together to oppose it.
A more secretive committee process led by Rep. Adam Schiff of the House Intelligence Committee has been the subject of partisan political drama for a month.
The next stage involves a formal inquiry, that includes new rules, into a phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which Democrats say prove the president used foreign aid “quid pro quo” to prompt Ukraine into investigating the shady dealings of Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden.
Whether or not Trump did so directly, or suggested such an investigation was important to him politically, is problematic for the Democrats, since Ukraine received the aid that had as it had been appropriated, and since all presidents use leverage when it comes to foreign aid.
The inquiry, once started, can expand to encompass just about anything, and will become a part of the presidential race in 2020. Schiff will now have much more power over the White House, including the president and his top aides.
After the inquiry, another vote is taken, and the charges — or articles of impeachment — are sent to the Senate. The Senate would need to vote, by a two-thirds majority, to remove the president.
Congressman Don Young of Alaska issued a statement after the vote:
“This is a sad day for this great institution. Today’s vote to formally pursue an impeachment inquiry is just the latest political stunt by House Democrats. This is not a question of whether there are sufficient grounds for impeachment, it is simply a sham vote to allow House Democrats to continue to trample on the longstanding impeachment process in the House. Everyone in this country deserves due process, but this vote is unfair and a total charade.
“Our Founders included an impeachment mechanism in our Constitution for a reason, and very frankly, House Democrats are trampling not only on their constitutional duties, but on the longstanding precedent in the House. Until the House approves a formal resolution authorizing an impeachment inquiry, the Democrats’ illegitimate effort will continue.
“In 1998, when the House was pursuing impeachment against President Clinton, we made it a point to ensure that the process went through proper channels, specifically the House Judiciary Committee. Democrats may not have agreed that President Clinton should have been impeached, but what matters is that they were included in the process. The process was held out in the open, it was fair, and the public could see it. Twenty-one years later, House Democrats have chosen to pursue impeachment against President Trump, but this time through a totally one-sided process with total disregard for precedent.
“I continue to believe that Democrats are pursuing impeachment only out of their hatred for President Trump, and not out of concern for our country. If Democrats insist on continuing this pursuit, it must be brought out into the open, give Republicans equal access and input, and provide the due process that President Trump is entitled to under the Constitution.”
Read the House resolution here:
