“House Democrats never sought impeachment, instead demonstrating extreme restraint as we watched this President engage in actions and behavior that we believed to be abhorrent and anathema to our nation’s highest principles.  However, in offering a bribe to the President of Ukraine in return for his government’s involvement in a scheme to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, President Trump put himself before our country.  This misconduct is what our Founders envisioned with horror when they created the process of impeachment to prevent a president’s abuse of power for personal gain.  His subsequent decision to obstruct Congress through the withholding of subpoenaed documents and the instruction of his subordinates not to cooperate with Congressional investigators further asserts the false and unrepublican premise that the president is above the law and not subject to the scrutiny of the American people’s representatives.    “The two articles of impeachment presented by the Judiciary Committee this morning seek to hold the President accountable for these two serious crimes: bribing a foreign government to interfere in the 2020 election and obstructing Congress in order to cover it up.  I commend the Speaker and committee chairs for adopting this carefully considered approach that recognizes the solemnity of what the House must now undertake.”