Skip to main content

Rep. Calvert Statement on Impeachment

December 17, 2019

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) issued the following statement on the upcoming impeachment vote in the House of Representatives:

"From the day President Trump was elected, Democrats in the House have searched for reasons to impeach him. They have never accepted that the American people, including over 143,000 of my constituents, chose him for the Presidency. We first saw this when many House Democrats refused to come to his inauguration, a day that should be marked by patriotism and unity. Democrats and their media allies then put all their hope in Robert Mueller, assuming his investigation would give them the ammunition to impeach the President. When that investigation cleared the President, they were forced to look elsewhere for the thinnest of strings on which to hang their impeachment case. And, sadly, that is where we are today.

I reject the flimsy premise of the Democrat articles of impeachment. They allege that the President withheld military aid unless Ukraine announced certain investigations. But military aid was released and no announcement of an investigation ever occurred. It's as simple as that.

Democrat claims of President Trump's mistreatment of Ukraine are absurd. The Trump Administration has provided tremendous military assistance to Ukraine, including critical weapons systems such as the javelin missile and other anti-tank systems to confront Russian aggression. The Obama Administration refused to provide arms to Ukraine even as Russian tanks rolled over Crimea and threatened to invade further into our ally's sovereign territory.

The Democrats' charge that the President has obstructed the Congressional investigation is even more laughable and is nothing more than procedural entrapment. Presidents have Constitutional rights and privileges. Every administration in the history of our country has battled with Congress over matters of Executive privilege. Our third branch of government, the judiciary, is where these Constitutional disputes are settled. The fact that Democrats are in such a rush to impeach and don't want to wait for these matters to be settled in court doesn't mean the President is obstructing Congress.

I have read the letters, emails, phone and social media messages from constituents who support impeachment. I have also read the many communications from my constituents who are outraged that the Democrats have now spent three years trying to find any reason to impeach President Trump. There's no doubt our nation is deeply divided when it comes to politics today. As we have throughout the history of our republic, I believe the best place to determine the future path of our democracy is at the ballot box – not through a partisan impeachment.

Now that Democrats have appeased their base, it is my sincere hope that we can get back to working on behalf of the American people."