Impeachment

Floor Speech

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Mrs. SHAHEEN. Mr. President, on January 6, 2021, the heart of American democracy was attacked by a violent mob seeking to stop the counting of electoral votes in Congress and the peaceful transition of power. The peaceful transition of power is the hallmark of any healthy democracy and the foundation of our government by the people. That tradition has endured in our country since the ``Revolution of 1800'' when John Adams lost his election to Thomas Jefferson, marking the first peaceful change of Executive party in the United States. Years later, Jefferson would write about the ``Revolution of 1800'' and say, ``for that was as real a revolution in the principles of our government as that of 76 . . . not effected indeed by the sword . . . but by the rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people.'' Sadly, the attack on the Capitol was an attempt to return to the ``sword,'' and it was incited by the President of the United States.

Donald Trump's actions leading up to and on January 6 demonstrated what I believed following his first impeachment: He was unfit for the Presidency and betrayed his oath to faithfully execute the office of President and preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. Donald Trump engaged in a months-long campaign of lies and misinformation about voter fraud in the 2020 election to mislead the American people and maintain power. This campaign was waged with a singular purpose: to overturn a free and fair election through any means necessary. It included calls to State election officials in Georgia where he urged them to ``find votes'' that would allow him to win the State; wild conspiracy theories that voting machines had been rigged against him; and baseless lawsuits that were rejected more than 60 times by Federal courts at all levels. This insidious effort culminated at the ``Save America'' rally on January 6 when the former President urged his supporters to ``fight like hell'' and directed them to march on Congress where the counting of electoral votes had begun.

The House Managers presented a detailed timeline of the former President's actions before, during, and after the election that exposed his effort to subvert the Constitution and defy the will of the American people. The evidence presented against the former President demonstrated that he sought to undermine and ultimately overturn the results of the 2020 election. It showed that when his challenges in court had failed and the electoral results had been certified, he turned his attention and all the power of the Presidency to January 6. He encouraged his supporters to come to DC to ``stop the steal'' and pressured former Vice President Pence to assert power he did not have under the Constitution to overturn the election. Trump amassed a crowd of individuals waiting for his direction, including armed individuals who had planned an attack for weeks in response to the President's claims that the election was stolen.

The former President's actions had deadly and destructive consequences. Insurrectionists stormed the Capitol building, desecrating the seat of American Government and the physical manifestation of freedom for people across the world. The insurrectionists viciously beat police officers defending our democracy, vandalized the building, and terrorized those inside. All the while, the mob chanted ``hang Mike Pence,'' ``President Trump sent us'' and ``traitor, traitor, traitor.'' When the attack was over, hundreds of police officers and others were injured, and five people were dead, including a brave Capitol police officer who lost his life defending our Capitol. The attack was viewed across the world and has undeniably tarnished America's reputation as a beacon of freedom and democracy.

What was the former President's response to this treasonous attack on our constitutional process? It was to repeat the sinister lies that had led to the attack in the first place and refer to the insurrectionists as ``great patriots'' whom he loved. The House Managers showed that the President could have stopped the attack, but he chose instead to continue his effort to obstruct the counting of the electoral votes. According to the testimony of Congresswoman Herrera Beutler submitted to evidence, the former President responded to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's pleas for help by saying, ``Well, Kevin, I guess these people (the insurrectionists) are more upset about the election than you are.'' These are not the actions of a President trying to defend the Constitution and uphold his oath of office; they are the actions of an individual intent on retaining power by any means necessary.

The actions of Donald Trump before, during, and after the attack on the Capitol reflected our Constitution's Framers greatest fear that a president would do anything to retain power contrary to the will of the people. They knew well the dangers of a despot and the capacity of power to corrupt the Republic they had established. That is why I voted to convict the former President to protect our system of government from those who would use their office to undermine our Constitution. Senate precedent, history, and tradition clearly demonstrate that a former President could be convicted having been impeached by the House while still in office.

The former President's legal team made no persuasive argument as to how his remarks on January 6 would be considered protected speech under the First Amendment or why he could not be convicted as a former President. As House Manager Raskin said during his argument, ``if this is not impeachable conduct then what is?'' I believe it fits squarely within the high crimes and misdemeanors identified as an eligible offense for impeachment in the Constitution. Thus, I exercised my responsibility as a juror to vote to convict and ensure that the actions of the former President would not go unchecked.

Donald Trump betrayed his oath of office and he betrayed the American people. His actions must not go unanswered. The oath that I took and my allegiance to it require that I preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution by voting to convict a former President whose zealous pursuit of unchecked power will forever be remembered as one of the darkest days in American history. As a U.S. Senator, I will continue to take a stand against actions that violates the fundamental norms and ideals of American democracy.

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