Rep. Carson on Partisan Acquittal of President Trump

Statement

Congressman André Carson, a senior member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement after the United States Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump:

"This was not an acquittal of the President's conduct. Even Senators who voted against removal acknowledged the egregiousness of the President's behavior in his dealings with Ukraine. In our democratic system, an acquittal means next to nothing if the trial wasn't fair. And that is exactly how this process was conducted at the hands of Senate Republicans, who blocked key witnesses and documents, and rigged the process to protect the President.

Here in the House, we conducted a thorough and complete impeachment inquiry. What we learned in that process, through testimony from respected public servants and military personnel, showed that this President egregiously violated his oath office, betrayed the American people, and jeopardized our national security. He withheld hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S. aid to Ukraine and used it as a bargaining chip to force this dependent nation to investigate a political rival. Even the non-partisan Government Accountability Office determined that he was breaking the law when he did this.

"Sadly, it appears nearly all of my Republican colleagues ignored the mountain of facts and evidence, and instead chose party over principle. Even as our House Impeachment Managers, led by Chairman Adam Schiff, made a powerfully compelling case against this President, unfortunately, these Senators remained paralyzed by partisanship.

"Despite the outcome, I am incredibly pleased that the House of Representatives fulfilled its constitutional duty to hold the President accountable for his actions. This process was never solely about removal from office. It was about protecting our Democracy, and sending a message to all Americans that in this country, no one -- not even the President -- is above the law. We achieved that. President Trump will forever be impeached. And Americans will always know that he used their tax dollars to further his own political objectives. No partisan outcome in this impeachment trial changes those facts, nor will it deter our ongoing work to safeguard America from his dangerous actions."

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