WASHINGTON DC (October 31, 2019) — Senator Charles "Chuck" Grassley, president pro tempore of the United States Senate, today released the following statement regarding the House of Representatives vote on a resolution outlining impeachment proceedings.
“House Democrats announced the opening of impeachment proceedings more than a month ago. So far, this process has been defined by its secrecy, lack of due-process, and fundamental unfairness. This vote is an implicit admission by House Democrats of exactly that. It’s a day late and a dollar short.
“Democrats’ impeachment proceedings are rooted in animus, a lack of rights for the accused, no transparency, and anger at the 2016 election results. Even with this long-overdue resolution, House Democrats are still denying House Republicans the unrestricted right to call their own witnesses, to rebut Democratic witnesses and to have the same right to subpoena witnesses that the Democrats have granted themselves. And the president’s counsel still doesn’t have the right to be present and ask questions of witnesses before the Intelligence Committee, which has been given the role the Judiciary Committee has played in the past. This all stands in stark contrast to previous impeachment proceedings.
“As a result, this will continue to be a purely partisan and political process — a continuation of Democrats’ impeachment obsession that began before President Trump was even inaugurated. This entire process has been contaminated from the beginning and the Senate may have a difficult time taking seriously an impeachment founded on these bases.”
