Tonight, without a vote from the Minority Party, Democrats in the U.S. House voted to impeach President Trump. Congressman Doug Collins from GA-9, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, was the highest profile Georgian on the matter to this point.
Collins office sent over the following press release:
“Without offering sufficient evidence or alleging actual crimes, Democrats have committed an injustice that extends beyond any one presidency. Today’s vote reveals their disregard for the Constitutional protections due to all citizens — including President Trump. That disregard threatens the liberties of every American.
“Democrats surveyed the ruins of their failed 2016 bid and concluded that they couldn’t trust Americans to elect Democrats in 2020. As a result, they have sold out due process, fairness and the presumption of innocence for their own political advantage.
“Today, House Democrats made a conscious decision to ignore the will and abandon the interests of their fellow Americans. They say this duly-elected president is a unique danger that the strongest democracy in the world isn’t fit to address. They claim the only way to protect our elections is by nullifying one and rigging another. In the same breath, they ask Americans to trust a party that can’t even convince its own members to support their leadership’s guerrilla tactics.
“Democrats abused their power throughout this impeachment and have said they’re ready to do it again. They’re resolute. They intend to overturn the will of the people whenever it conflicts with the will of liberal elites, and that albatross will hang heavy around their necks for generations to come.”
We received the following from Sanford Bishop, D-GA2:
“The first article alleges the President abused the power of his office for personal gain. He withheld military aid and an Oval Office meeting from a foreign government unless they gave him dirt he could use against his likely challenger to help his own re-election bid. The President admitted he did this. This conversation was in the transcript the White House released. Two State Department officials’ texts and phone calls confirmed the transcript and the President’s own words.
“The second article alleges the President obstructed Congress by refusing to comply with the lawful requests made by Congress in the impeachment inquiry. President Trump repeatedly instructed government officials and agencies not to cooperate and spurn subpoenas. In the history of impeachment in our country, this has never happened. No President or Administration facing impeachment has ever categorically denied subpoenas and refused requests for documents, until President Trump.
“The facts are not in dispute. The President and his Chief of Staff have admitted they did it and told us ‘we do that all the time, get over it.’ We must not get over it. We must not let the abnormal become the normal. We cannot allow this President to ‘do whatever he wants’ if it violates the Constitution and laws of the United States.
“To not impeach would say to future presidents they can disregard the Constitutional authority given to Congress. To not impeach would announce to foreign countries that America’s presidency is for sale. To not impeach would tell future presidents they too can try to rig an election in their favor instead of letting voters decide. To not impeach would say our President is above the law.
“The President and Members of Congress take an oath to the Constitution. The President violated his oath, but I will not violate mine.”
From Congressman Buddy Carter, R-GA1:
“This sham impeachment process has made a mockery of the rules of the House, and is a danger to our democracy,” said Carter. Since day one, Washington Democrats made their intentions of impeachment clear. This ridiculous impeachment process will cause damage to our political institutions and American’s trust for years to come.
“Every American should be concerned that Speaker Pelosi does not trust our citizens to decide who should lead our great nation. Instead, Washington Democrats voted tonight to overturn the 2016 election because they do not like who the American people elected.
“This impeachment sham is about nothing more than politics and shaping public opinion. Not only has this whole process been alarming, but it has wasted taxpayer dollars and time. This vote tonight will leave a black eye on our nation and a stain on our history.”
From Drew Ferguson, R-GA3:
“Well here we are, on the verge of doing exactly what Americans don’t want us to do and exactly what they feared you would do. In 2016, I, along with 63 million voters and the 304 electoral college votes they represent, went into voting booths, raised our collective political middle finger to D.C. and voted for Donald J. Trump for President.
Folks like my father, who watched this place destroy his profession of community banking. My friends and family in the textile industry who saw their way of life destroyed following NAFTA. Americans in rural areas whose opportunity in life and voice had been drowned out by the screams of socialist democrats.
Our friends and neighbors living in poverty, crime and broken down project based public housing who for generations have been told this is the best D.C. thinks you can do, here’s your check now move along. I, for one, stand determined not to let this happen! Our voice will be heard, and we will fight back against this partisan, unfair and corrupt impeachment process.
How dare you, the liberal elites, the condescending bureaucrats and every other kind of swamp critter in this place try to tell us, the American public, who the President should be. That’s the job of the American voter – not yours! This whole great rodeo is a sham and a shame. And it won’t be forgotten. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, I yield back.”
The press releases we have from GA-6 are from Karen Handel, challenging Lucy McBath in a rematch of 2018, and from the NRCC. Said Handel:
“With less than one year until the election, Lucy McBath proved once again that she is a partisan extremist Democrat who puts politics and her personal agenda ahead of the people of GA6. She’s voting with Nancy Pelosi and Washington Democrats instead of with her voters in the 6th district.”
And from Camille Gallo of the NRCC:
“Lyin’ Lucy McBath’s vote to impeach President Trump destroys any chance she has for reelection and shows Georgia voters she’s exactly like the rest of the socialist Democrats.”
From Rob Woodall, R-GA7:
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to impeach the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. The Articles of Impeachment, accused the President of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress and will now move to the U.S. Senate for trial. Three Democrats joined House Republicans in opposing the charge that the President obstructed Congress, and two Democrats voted against the article that stated that the President abused his office.
“Impeaching a duly elected president is a serious undertaking that demands fairness, careful examination, and bipartisan support,” said Congressman Woodall. “The majority party in the House violated these principles and made a mockery of our Constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight. In the end, the only thing bipartisan about impeachment was the opposition to it. I am confident that the Senate will treat this process with more sincerity and bring conclusion to this saga. Perhaps, then, we can return to our promised work on behalf of the American people.”
From Rep Jody Hice, R-GA10:
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA) today released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump. With these baseless charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, President Trump will now stand to be tried in the U.S. Senate in January 2020.
“I voted no on both articles of impeachment. Since the day he was inaugurated, President Trump has been met with open hostility from both the media and political foes alike. Rather than working with the President, House Democrats have squandered an entire year, wasting countless opportunities to enact positive change for America. Instead, their energies and resources have been fixated on a vendetta against the President – an endless cycle of wild allegations and partisan witch-hunt investigations.
“Once the impeachment charade began, my Democrat colleagues haphazardly bounced from accusation to accusation – each new charge lacking the evidence to back it up. They’ve based their indictment of the President on presumption, hearsay, and policy disagreements, none of which builds a convincing or compelling case for removing him from office.
“The weeks of secret, closed-door witness auditions finally led to us hearing from the Democrats’ star witnesses: disgruntled career bureaucrats, who could only testify to gossip and speculative assumptions. When that failed to move the needle, in a desperate bid to strengthen their case, House Democrats then turned to the conjecture of Ivy League academics, who strung together cherry-picked quotes from our Founding Fathers to humor a liberal fairytale. At the end of the day, their crusade ended as it began, as an impeachment in search of a crime.
“While my colleagues on the other side of the aisle obsessed over issuing subpoenas, they lost sight of honoring the promises they made to the American people. We leave soon to return to our families for the Christmas season, having accomplished none of the great hopes we had when we entered the 116th Congress. Let’s hope that when we return in 2020 that the Majority reevaluates its priorities so that we may finally get to work on the job the American people sent us to do.”
From Rick Allen, RGA-12:
Today, for the third time in our nation’s history, a President will be impeached.
This will be, however, the first time impeachment has been entirely partisan and without merit.
This charade is not because President Trump is guilty of a high crime or misdemeanor – but because one political party doesn’t like him or his policies of America first.
The facts are we have a divided government and House Democrats are at war with the Executive Branch.
Fact 2: They have been planning for this day since President Trump took office.
Fact 3: They accused the President first and then spent months looking for a crime.
Fact 4: But no evidence has been presented of an impeachable offense.
During one of the partisan hearings, a member of this body asked if President Trump had evidence of his innocence, why didn’t he bring it forward?
The Democrats want Americans to believe that our President is guilty until he proves himself innocent.
This whole process is unconstitutional.
Today we have heard both sides but we need to get the truth.
And the truth is that the decision of who should be our President should be made by the American people – not Nancy Pelosi, Adam Schiff and House Democrats.
From Tom Graves, R-GA14
“In 2016, the American people voted to elect Donald Trump the President of the United States. But, for the last three years, politicians in Washington have been working to overturn the will of voters. This partisan process has only pushed Congress, and our country, further down a path of division. I am disappointed in this unnecessary outcome. Our country and our President deserve better.
“We were elected to work together, not to tear each other down. Tomorrow, the Modernization Committee will vote on recommendations to boost civility and encourage bipartisanship throughout the House. After this disappointing display of extreme partisanship, I am hopeful that we can move forward from this and focus on issues that affect the everyday lives of Americans.”
And from the State Senate, Majority Whip Steve Gooch (R-Dahlonega) sent over the following press release:
ATLANTA (December 18, 2019) | Earlier today, Sen. Steve Gooch (R– Dahlonega) pre-filed Senate Resolution LC 112 0167 condemning the Congress of the United States for their impeachment proceedings against Donald J. Trump. This resolution was pre-filed today by Senators Steve Gooch, John Wilkinson (R – Toccoa) and Brandon Beach (R – Alpharetta).
“Politics hit a new low in our Nation’s Capitol with the impeachment vote that is expected to be taken tonight,” said Sen. Gooch. “It is sad to see the partisan bickering in our U.S. House of Representatives. Congress should be working together to protect our families and fellow Americans across the United States. Cutting our national debt and deficit spending should be a priority at a time when we are experiencing historic low unemployment numbers and historic highs in the stock market. Protecting our borders and investing in much needed infrastructure should be the issues they are debating, not these baseless allegations against President Trump.”
Resolution LC 112 0167 will be introduced in the Georgia Senate when the General Assembly reconvenes on January 13th.