Scanlon again makes the case for Trump’s impeachment
On a historic day in the nation’s capital, U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon had her say as the House prepared to vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
“It is with profound sadness that I stand here today in support of these articles of impeachment,” said Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore.
The vice chair of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee was integral in the proceedings against the president and she has been vocal in her call to impeach Trump for these offenses.
“President Trump’s behavior is exactly what the founders feared most,” Scanlon said. “They knew that with awesome power of the presidency came the risk of a president abusing that power for personal gain. They were particularly concerned about executives becoming entangled with foreign governments, corrupting our elections, avoid consequences for misconduct in office. That is why they included impeachment in the Constitution to protect our republic.”
She reiterated her stance that this is not an issue of personality.
“Our colleagues across the aisle have claimed that we are impeaching the president because we ‘don’t like him,’” she said. “But this moment is about far more than disagreements with the president’s policies or personality - those disagreements belong in the voting booth. Our task is not to judge the president himself. Instead, we must judge his actions and whether or not his conduct has undermined our government. Because, it is the office of the president to which we owe our loyalty, not the man who occupies it.”
She laid out the case as she saw it.
“The president used the highest office in our government, and taxpayer dollars, to pressure a foreign country to interfere in our elections,” Scanlon said. “And when he got caught, he tried to cover it up by obstructing our investigation and our legal system. He refused to produce subpoenaed documents and ordered his subordinates not to appear as witnesses.”
The congresswoman said this is a serious rip in the fabric of this country’s foundation.
“A government where the president abuses his power is not ‘of the people,’” Scanlon said. “A government where the president pressures a foreign country to undermine our elections is not ‘by the people.’ And a government where the president puts his own interests before the country is not ‘for the people.’”
She then said now was the time for action.
“This is not complicated,” she said. “You know it. I know it. The American people know it. And in there hearts, I believe that my colleagues across the aisle know it. President Trump’s wrongdoing - and the urgent threat that his actions present to our democracy leave us no principled alternative but to support these articles of impeachment.
“Our Constitution, our country and our children depend on it,” she said.
Scanlon was one of four Democratic women elected to the House from southeastern Pennsylvania, along with Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-6 of Chester County; Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4 of Montgomery County; and Rep. Susan Wild, D-Allentown.
All nine Democrats representing Pennsylvania in the House said they would vote in favor of the two articles of impeachment.
The measures will go to the Senate for trial and possible removal of the 45th president of the United States.