Prince William County’s congressional delegation voted along party lines on Wednesday’s historic vote to impeach President Donald J. Trump on articles accusing the president of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Reps. Gerald Connolly and Jennifer Wexton, both Democrats, voted in favor of both articles of impeachment while Rep. Rob Wittman, a Republican, voted against them.
Statements issued by both Wexton and Wittman after the vote mirrored the opposing arguments Democrats and Republicans made on the House floor during about 11 hours of debate before the vote.
Republicans argued that Democrats failed to prove Trump committed an impeachable offense, while Democrats said Trump violated the Constitution by withholding military aid to the Ukraine on the condition that President Volodymyr Zelensky announce an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. Biden is a front-runner in the Democratic primary to run against Trump in November 2020.
In a statement issued after the vote, Wittman, R-1st, said hearings of the House oversight, intelligence, foreign affairs and judiciary committees “by no means proved President Trump committed an impeachable offense.”
Wittman went on to accuse House Democrats with wasting time on the president’s impeachment, saying they “weaponized” the process.
“There is a reason why only three presidents have gone through this before – it is supposed to be an exceedingly rare occurrence,” Wittman’s statement said.
“The founders warned against a single party impeachment because it would divide the country – and that is what we are seeing right now. We are seeing Democrats weaponize the impeachment process, and I am worried for the precedent this will set for the future.”
Wexton, D-10th, meanwhile, said Trump’s actions with regard to military aid for Ukraine “left us no choice.”
As a former prosecutor, Wexton said she approached the question of impeachment “with only the facts and evidence in mind.”
“On both articles of impeachment, the facts are uncontested and the truth is inescapable. The president committed a grave abuse of power when he withheld vital military aid from an ally at war with a U.S. adversary in exchange for the announcement of a baseless investigation into his political opponent that would support his own re-election,” Wexton’s statement said.
“The president leveraged the highest office in the land for personal political gain. In doing so, he jeopardized our national security, undermined the integrity of our elections, and betrayed the public trust,” Wexton’s statement added. “… The president's pattern of misconduct outlined in the articles of impeachment and his unrepentant contempt for the rule of law make it clear that he poses a clear and present danger to the very foundations of our democracy.”
During a speech on the House floor this afternoon, Connolly, D-11th, said the House was “summoned by history to do the right thing.”
“To extort a foreign country to investigate your political opponent is an unconstitutional abuse of power. To solicit foreign interference in an American election is an unconstitutional abuse of power,” Connolly added. “…Today we must put country over power, conscience over complicity. Today we must assert no one is above the law.”
All but two Democrats voted in favor of impeachment on the abuse of office charge, and all but three voted for impeachment for abuse of power. All Republicans voted against both articles.
(8) comments
Its a hoax. This democrats are mentally ill and drunk with power.
Here are the facts. Yesterday the Democrat Party formally declared war against the American people. What kind of choices do you think that left them with?
Delusions do not equal facts, evidence, testimony, and the transcript itself have proven Trump's guilt, he was impeached because of it. Instead of doing what others have done and provide witnesses, he blocked witnesses against congressional subpoenas. He will go down in history as the third President to be impeached, regardless of this banter.
And can you believe it? Trump has already scared Nancy Pelosi so bad that she is afraid to send her articles of impeachment to the Senate so he can be convicted of something. He's actually stealing 2020 Election. What a monster!
Again, the disinformation campaign waged on American households through Murdoch media companies, like Fox is being shown yet again. Pelosi is making a strategic decision to delay the sending of the articles of impeachment to the Senate, due to Moscow Mitch's refusal to hear from any witnesses, in the Senate trial for example critical witnesses such as John Bolton, or Mick Mulvaney who had a direct hand in this quid pro quo. Not to mention Moscow Mitch is a major hypocrite having said in 1999, that there should be witnesses at the senate trial of former President Clinton.
InsideCommenter: Pelosi sacked the Democrat Party by sucker punching the American people. Huff and puff and blow all you want no one is buying it.
ccw: As usual not one iota of substance in your comments, no facts logic or evidence. Just childlike ad hominem attacks.
[thumbup]
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.