Impeachment

Floor Speech

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Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, as Senators in this proceeding, we were bound by two oaths, to support and defend the Constitution and to pursue impartial justice as we considered the Article of Impeachment filed against former President Donald Trump: a charge of incitement of insurrection.

The Framers of our Constitution gave us the tools to respond to a moment like this. Having lived under the tyranny of an unaccountable King, they were well aware of the risks of a President willing to abuse his or her power. William Davie, one of North Carolina's representatives at the Constitutional Convention, argued that empowering the Congress was necessary to protect against the threat of a President who would spare ``no efforts or means whatever to get himself reelected.''

Our system of checks and balances as laid out in our Constitution provides that the Congress can impeach a President for committing ``Treason, Bribery, or other High Crimes and Misdemeanors.'' The phrase was meant to encompass any offenses that, as Alexander Hamilton explained in Federalist 65, include an ``abuse or violation of some public trust'' and ``injuries done immediately to society itself.'' Impeachment is a remedy for this public harm.

Some of my colleagues argue that the Senate could not sit as a court of impeachment for a former President. But constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum agree that the plain language of the Constitution and the historical precedent are clear that the Senate has the power to hold former officers accountable for offenses committed while in office. The question was debated on the Senate floor, we had a vote, and a bipartisan majority decided that we should proceed. As Manager Jamie Raskin said, ``[t]he jurisdictional constitutional issue is gone . . . We are having a trial on the facts.''

As we were all witnesses to what happened on January 6, the facts are clear. During the trial, we saw evidence that was haunting and chilling. But more than that, collectively, the evidence presented a clear indictment of President Trump's role in threatening not only the lives of those at the Capitol, but the very lifeblood of our democracy.

President Trump's actions on January 6 were consistent with a years- long effort to undermine faith in our democratic system. After spending months trying to delegitimize our elections and despite losing by more than 7 million votes, President Trump filed dozens of lawsuits and called into question the election results across the country. In court after court, the President's claims were rejected. As Judge Bibas, who was appointed by President Trump, wrote for the Third Circuit, ``Charges of unfairness are serious. But calling an election unfair does not make it so. Charges require specific allegations and then proof. We have neither here.''

In an attempt to delay the certification of the results, President Trump privately pressured State election officials, including asking Georgia's Secretary of State to ``find'' 11,780 votes, a number that would flip the State in his favor. Thankfully, election officials followed the law, and by December 11, 2020, all States had certified the results of the election.

Despite the results being final, however, President Trump convinced his supporters that there was one last opportunity to interrupt the peaceful transfer of power: preventing the Congress from counting the electoral college votes. And they responded to his call. During the trial, we saw a video of a rioter yelling, ``We were invited by the President of the United States!'' and examples of the rioters' social media posts telling President Trump they were there for him, including a photo of rioters storming the Capitol steps captioned, ``This is me.''

Law enforcement, sworn to protect the Capitol, were repeatedly assaulted defending our temple of democracy and our very republic. We will never forget the shrieks of the police officer pinned in between the doors at the hands of the rioters, pleading for help. We will never forget Officer Harry Dunn, who fought against the violent mob for hours and, after it was over, broke down in tears, telling fellow officers he had been called the N-word numerous times that day. He asked: ``Is this America?'' Or Officer Eugene Goodman who ran to take on a growing group of the rioters by himself, diverting them away from the Senate Chamber and allowing Senators to move to a secure location.

Tragically, the attack on the Capitol also cost the lives of three brave officers, including Officer Brian Sicknick who died from injuries sustained while engaging with rioters. Two other officers died by suicide following the events of January 6: D.C. Metropolitan Police Officer Jeffrey Smith and U.S. Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood.

While much of the trial rightfully focused on what President Trump did on and leading up to January 6, in many ways what he did not do was even more dangerous. After he sent the mob to the Capitol, putting law enforcement in danger and threatening the safety of the Vice President, President Trump did nothing to stop the violence. Despite calls from Republican leaders across the country, President Trump did not even send a tweet to defend our democracy. Hours after the rioters first breached the Capitol, he finally released a video and told the rioters: ``we love you; you're very special.''

President Trump betrayed his oath of office to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States. He incited a mob to attack the Capitol and prevent the peaceful transfer of power, and for that, he should be impeached.

On January 6, we were all awakened to our responsibilities as Americans and as Senators. I will never forget walking to the House Chamber around 4 a.m., with shattered glass from broken windows strewn in the hallway, joined by Senator Blunt, Vice President Pence, and alongside two young women who carried the mahogany boxes holding each State's electoral votes. We knew we had to return to do our jobs, and that night, we made clear to all: Democracy will prevail.

Thank you.

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