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Tonko Votes to Begin Public Impeachment Hearings

Resolution passes by wide 232-196 margin establishing transparency, strong due process protections

WASHINGTON—Congressman Paul D. Tonko voted this morning to approve H. Res. 660, a resolution to begin public impeachment hearings and establish transparency and due process standards for those hearings in the House. This is the next step in ongoing House of Representatives inquiries into evidence of wrongdoing by President Donald Trump. 

“Our Constitution clearly empowers Congress to review evidence and assess whether the President engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors. His grave abuse of power aimed at undermining our elections must be held accountable under the law. Impeachment is a solemn process, and we have taken great care in recent weeks to preserve the integrity of the relevant evidence, testimony and surrounding investigations. Based on the findings already uncovered and the President’s own public admissions and disclosures, there is no longer a question of whether the President abused his position for personal gain. That is a matter of record. What we need to determine now is the full extent of his misconduct and what measures must we undertake to restore our national security and the rule of law in America. Like the President, my colleagues and I swore an oath to protect and defend our Constitution. Unlike the President, we intend to honor that oath.”

Tonko called for the start of an impeachment inquiry on June 3rd, 2019 following the release of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s “Report On The Investigation into Russian Interference in the 2016 Presidential Election,” which detailed extensive evidence of misconduct including numerous attempts by Trump and his top advisers to evade or obstruct the American justice system. Publicly available evidence continued to mount over the ensuing months, and on September 24th, 2019 Tonko called for the House to file Articles of Impeachment to overcome White House efforts to obstruct Constitutionally-required Congressional oversight.

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