Washington D.C.—Congressman Michael McCaul (R-TX), Lead Republican of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke on the House Floor in opposition to Speaker Pelosi’s impeachment “rules” resolution:

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-Remarks as Delivered- 

“Thank you Madame Speaker. I’d also argue that Article 1 does not say you can do whatever you want to do. The Constitution says that and our Founding Fathers said that as well.

“For 38 days I have objected to this impeachment probe because it denies due process, fundamental transparency and basic fairness to Republicans, the White House, and the American people. From day one, Democrats have ignored the rules and 45 years of historic impeachment precedent. Without any authorization, Adam Schiff has conducted a secret probe outside of his committee’s jurisdiction. He has blocked us from calling our own witnesses.

“His witnesses are being interviewed behind closed doors in the most secretive room in the United States Capitol. That is not democracy. He’s muzzled Republicans. I’ve been in the room. Placing a gag order on depositions while leaking cherry-picked facts to the press.

“He refuses to even allow us to read the transcripts without being baby-sat by a Democrat staffer. He’s refused to let us hear from the most important witness who brought this entire thing, the whistleblower. He’s barred White House Counsel from any participation.

“And now, 38 days into the Democrats rush to impeachment, Speaker Pelosi claims she wants to establish rules and transparency. You cannot make your game fair by allowing the opposing team onto the field at the two-minute warning. The bipartisan precedents from Nixon and Clinton still must be followed and they are not being followed under this resolution.

“The White House counsel remains shut out of this process. This is unacceptable. Only three times in our nation’s history has Congress exercised its great power of impeachment. Our Founding Fathers in Federalist Papers number 65, Alexander Hamilton, warned us of abusing this power because they saw a future Congress abusing it. They foresaw a Congress at one point in history abusing this process for partisan political gain. So instead of overturning an entire election with a partisan weapon, we should just allow the American people to vote.”

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