Rep. Cline statement on vote to advance Articles of Impeachment to the full House

Congressman Ben Cline (VA-06) released the following statement on the House Judiciary Committee voting today to advance Articles of Impeachment to the full House of Representatives.

“It is a sad day in America, as Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have failed the American people by voting out two unproven Articles of Impeachment against the President after only 3 days of hearings and no fact witnesses. No matter how hard they try, they cannot show that the President committed high crimes or misdemeanors as required by Article 2 Section 4 of the Constitution. Instead, the evidence shows four facts that will never change: both President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelensky have said there was no pressure on the July 25 call, there was no conditionality of aid in the call summary, the Ukrainians were not aware that aid was withheld when the presidents spoke, and Ukraine still received aid and a meeting with President Trump without taking any action. The claim that the President abused his power has not been proven. In fact, the only abuse of power I have seen is by Speaker Pelosi and her caucus as they try to remove the duly elected President from office and overturn the will of 60 million Americans.”

“The Articles also argue that the President has obstructed Congress. The Majority suggests that because President Trump has sought judicial review regarding his claims of executive privilege involving the possible testimony of his closest advisors, he has circumvented the law and Congress. We live in a country where the Rule of Law still exists, and to claim that availing himself of the courts is the equivalent of obstruction of Congress is ridiculous.”

“This partisan impeachment circus has been flawed from the very beginning. At every turn, both Congressional Republicans and President Trump have been denied fairness and due process. While transcripts of the testimony in the Intelligence Committee were eventually made public, most Judiciary Committee members were not able to watch the hidden proceedings, question witnesses, or ensure the accuracy of the transcripts we were provided. We learned that Chairman Schiff at times ordered witnesses not to answer Republican questions, lied about his contact with the whistleblower, and surreptitiously obtained phone records of Members of Congress and the press. Hearsay, speculation, and inferences are not enough to remove a sitting President, and for all of these reasons, I could not support these partisan Articles of Impeachment.”