Local congressmen react to acquittal
Local U.S. Reps. John Garamendi, (Democrat, Walnut Grove) and Doug Lamalfa, (Republican, Richvale), made statements about the acquittal of President Donald Trump in the Senate impeachment trial: Garamendi: “Trump’s abuse of power is a clear and present danger to our democracy and national security interests. Trump put himself before country and must be held accountable.
“Trump betrayed his oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States’ and defied the public’s trust. Trump abused his office to advance his scheme and then ordered the categorical and indiscriminate obstruction of the impeachment inquiry. No one is above the law.
“President Trump has established a pattern of corruptly soliciting foreign interference into our elections to benefit his reelection. Congress must act with a sense of urgency to protect the integrity of the 2020 elections and defend our Constitution.
“I am disappointed that the Senate voted to acquit, as many senators signaled they had made up their mind before they even heard the House impeachment managers’ arguments.”
Lamalfa: “Today is the culmination of an absolutely predictable series of events. There were never 67 votes to convict the President. There was never any bipartisan support for impeachment. This contrived process was never going to be successful and everyone knew it. From quid pro quo, to extortion, to bribery, hyper-partisan democrats have continuously grasped for straws that would make their narrative more compelling. Here we are, over four months since the inquiry was announced, and they have not found a single way to convince Americans that the President committed a crime.
“Now that the Senate has voted to acquit President Trump, Democrats must once and for all face the music; the results of the 2016 election can’t be changed. The only thing that the Democrats have succeeded at is giving President Trump his highest approval rating since his first month in office. I’m glad this so-called process is over. Let’s get back to work.”