UNITED STATES SENATE: PRESIDENT TRUMP IMPEACHMENT TRIAL DAY 12 1601- END
1550 SENATE FS102 90
Trump Impeachment Trial, Day 12: The Senate convenes and proceeds to a period of morning business, at 4:00 p.m. resuming its sitting as a Court of Impeachment for the impeachment trial of Donald John Trump, President of the United States, voting on the articles of impeachment.
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JUSTICE ROBERTS>> The Senate will convene as a court of impeachment [bangs gavel] If there's no objection,the journal of proceedings of the trial are approved to date. The deputy Sergeant at Arms will make the proclamation .
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SGT AT ARMS>> Hear ye, hear ye. All persons are commanded to keep silence on pain of imprisonment while the senate of the United States is sitting for the trial of the articles of impeachment exhibited by the house of representatives against Donald John trump, president of the united States. As a reminder to everyone in the chamber as well as those in the galleries, demonstrations of approval or disapproval are prohibited .
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ROBERTS>> The majority leader is recognized.
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MITCH MCCONNELL>> The senate is now ready to vote on the articles of impeachment and after that is done we will adjourn the court of impeachment .
ROBERTS>> The clerk will read the first article of impeachment.
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CLERK>> Article 1, abuse of power. The constitution provides the house of representatives, quote, "shall have the power -- sole power of impeachment." And that the president, quote, "shall be removed from office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors," closed quote. In his conduct of the office of president of the united States and in violation of his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of president of the united States and to the best of his ability preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed.
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Donald J. Trump has abused the powers of the president in that using the powers of high office, president trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States presidential election. He did so through a scheme or course of conduct that included soliciting the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection. Harmed the election prospects of a political opponent and influence the 2020 United States presidential election to his advantage.
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President Trump also sought to pressure the government of Ukraine to take the steps by conditioning official United States government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public announcement of the investigations. President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct for corrupt purposes in pursuit of personal political benefit. In doing so president trump used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromise the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the democratic process. He thus ignored and injured the interests of the nation.
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President Trump engaged in this scheme or course of conduct through the following means. 1, President Trump, acting both directly and through his agents within and outside the United States government, corruptly solicited the government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations into A, a political opponent, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Junior and B, a discredited theory promoted by Russia, alleging that Ukraine rather than Russia interfered in the 2016 United States presidential election.
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2, with the same corrupt motives president trump acting both directly and through his agents within the outside of the United States government conditioned two official acts on the public announcements that he had requested. A: the release of $391 million dollars of the United States taxpayer funds that congress had appropriated on a bipartisan basis for the purpose of providing vital military and security assistance to Ukraine to oppose Russian aggression, and which president Trump had ordered suspended.
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And "B": a head of state meeting at the White House, which the president of Ukraine sought to demonstrate continued United States support for the government of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. 3, faced with a public revelation of his actions, President Trump ultimately released the military and security assistance to the government of Ukraine and has persisted in openly and corruptly urging and soliciting Ukraine to undertake investigations for his personal political benefit.
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These actions were consistent with President Trump's previous invitation of foreign interference in United States elections. In all of this, President Trump abused the powers of the presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal political benefit. He has betrayed the nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections. Wherefore president trump by such conduct has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.
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President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.
ROBERTS>> Each Senator when his or her name is called will stand in his or her place and vote guilty or not guilty, as required by rule 23 of the Senate rules on impeachment. Article 1 section 3 clause 6 of the constitution regarding the vote required for conviction on impeachment
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provides that no person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two thirds of the members present. The question is on the first article of impeachment, senators, how say you? Is the respondent Donald John Trump guilty or not guilty? A roll call vote is required. The court will call the roll.
ROLL CALL
CLERK>> Senator Alexander, Mister Alexander, not guilty. Mister Baldwin, Baldwin, guilty. Mister Barrasso. Not guilty.
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ROBERTS>> Mister Bennett? Mister Bennett, guilty. Mrs. Blackburn? Mrs. Blackburn, not guilty. Mister Blumenthal? Mister Blumenthal, guily. Mister Blunt? Mister Blunt, not guilty. Mister Booker? Mister Booker, guilty.
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Mister Boozman. Mister Boozman, not guilty. Mister Braun? Mister Braun, not guilty. Mister Brown? Mister Brown, guilty. Mister Burr. Mister Burr, not guilty. Miss Cantwell? Miss Cantwell, guilty. Mrs Capito? Mrs. Capito, not guilty.
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Mister cardin? Mister cardin, guilty. Mister Carper? Mr Carper, guilty. Mister Casey? Mister Casey, guilty. Mister Cassidy? Mister Cassidy, not guilty. Miss COLLINS? Miss COLLINS, not guilty. Mister Coons? Mister Coons, guilty.
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Mister Cornyn? Mister Cornyn, not guilty. Miss Cortez-masto. Miss Cortez-masto, guilty. Mister cotton? Mr Cotton, not guilty. Mr Kramer? Mister Kramer, not guilty. Mister Crapo. Mister Crapo, not guilty.
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Mister Cruz? Mr Cruz, not guilty. Mr Danes? Mister Danes, not guilty. Miss Duckworth? Miss Duckworth, guilty. Mister Durbin? Mister Durbin, guilty. Mister Enzi? Mister Enzi, not guilty.
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Miss Ernst? Mister Ernst, not guilty. Miss Feinstein? Miss Feinstein, guilty. Miss Fischer? Miss Fischer, not guilty. Mister Gardner? Mister Gardner, not guilty. Mrs Gillibrand? Mrs Gillibrand, guilty. Mister Graham? Mister graham, not guilty. Mister grassley? Mr Grassley, not guilty.
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Miss Harris. Miss Harris, guilty. Miss hassan, Miss Hassan, guilty. Mister Hawley, Mister Hawley, not guilty. Mister Heinrich. Mister heinrich, guilty. Miss hirono, Miss hirono, guilty. Mister Hoeven, Mister Hoeven, not guilty. Mrs. Hyde Smith, Mrs. Hyde Smith, not guilty.
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Mister inhof, Mister inhof, not guilty. Mister Johnson, Mister Johnson, not guilty. Mister JOMES. Mister JONES, guilty. Mister kaine. Mr. kaine, guilty. Mister Kennedy, not guilty. Mister king. Mister king, guilty.
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Miss Klobuchar. Miss Klobuchar, guilty. Mister lankford. Mister Lankford, not guilty. Mister Leahy. Mister Leahy, guilty. mister Lee. Mister Lee, not guilty. Mrs. Loeffler. Mrs. Loeffler, not guilty. Mister Manchin, Mister Manchin, guilty. Mister Markey. Mister Markey, guilty.
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Mister Mcconnell. Mister Mcconnell, not guilty. Miss McSally. Miss McSally, not guilty. Mister Menendez. Mister Menendez, guilty. mister Merkley Mister Merkley, guilty. Mister moran. Mister Moran, not guilty. Miss Murkowski. Miss Murkowski, not guilty.
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Miss Murphy, mister Murphy, guilty. Mrs. Murray. Mrs. Murray, guilty. Mister Paul. Mister Paul, not guilty. Mister perdue. Mister perdue, not guilty. Mister Peters. Mister Peters, guilty. mister portman. Mister portman, not guilty. Mister Reid. Mister Reid, guilty. Mister Risch, Mister Risch, not guilty.
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Mister Roberts. Mister Roberts, not guilty.
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MISTER ROMNEY, MISTER ROMNEY, guilty. Miss Rosen. Ms. Rosen, guilty. Mister rounds. Mister rounds, not guilty. Mister Rubio, Mister Rubio, not guilty. Mister Sanders. Mister sanders, guilty. Mister sasse. Mister sasse, not guilty.
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Mister Schatz. Mister Schatz, guilty. Mister Schumer. Mister Schumer, guilty. Mister Scott of Florida. Mister Scott of Florida, not guilty. Mister Scott of South Carolina. Mister Scott of South Carolina, not guilty.
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Mrs. Shaheen? Mrs. Shaheen, guilty. Mister Shelby? Mr Shelby, not guilty. Miss Sinema? Miss Sinema, guilty. Ms. Smith? Ms Smith, guilty. Miss stabenow? Miss stabenow, guilty.
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Mister sullivan? Mister sullivan, not guilty. Mister Tester? Mister Tester, guilty. Mister Thune? Mister Thune, not guilty. Mister Tillis? Mr Tillis, not guilty. Mir Toomey? Mister Toomey, not guilty.
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Mister Udall? Mister Udall, guilty. Mister Van Hollen? Mister van Hollen, guilty. Mister Warner? Mister Warner, guilty. Miss Warren? Miss Warren, guilty. Mister Whitehouse? Mr. Whitehouse, guilty.
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Mister wicker? Mister Wicker, not guilty. Mister Wyden? Mister wyden, guilty. Mister Young? Mister young, not guilty.
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ROBERTS >> This article of impeachment, 48 senators have pronounced Donald John Trump, President of the United States guilty as charged. 52 senators have pronounced him not guilty as charged. Two thirds of the senators present not having pronounced him guilty, the senate adjudges that the respondent Donald John trump president of the United States is not guilty as charged in the first article of impeachment.
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The clerk will read the second article of impeachment.
CLERK >> ARTICLE TWO / Article 2, obstruction of congress. The constitution provides the house of representatives shall have the full power of impeachment and that the president shall be removed office on impeachment for and conviction of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors in his constitutional oath faithfully execute the office of president of the united States
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and to the best of his ability preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, Donald J trump has directed the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its full power of impeachment, president trump has abused the powers of the presidency in a manner offensive to and subversive of the constitution
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in that the House of representatives has engaged in an impeachment inquiry focused on president trump's corrupt solicitation of the government of the Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 United States presidential election. As part of this impeachment inquiry, the committee's undertaking the investigation, serve subpoenas, seeking documents and testimony deemed vital to the inquiry from various executive branch agencies and offices and current and former officials.
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In response without lawful cause or excuse president trump directed executive branch agencies, offices and individuals not to comply with those subpoenas. President Trump thus interposed the powers of the presidency against the lawful subpoenas of the house of representatives, and assumed to himself functions and judgments necessary to the exercise of the sole power of impeachment vested by the constitution in the house of representatives.
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President Trump abused the powers of his high office through the following means. One: Directing the white house to defy a lawful subpoena by withholding the production of documents sought therein by the committees. Two: directing other executive branch agencies and offices to defy lawful subpoenas and withhold the production of documents and records from the committees in response to which the department of state, office of management and budget, department of energy and department of defense refused to produce a single document or Record.
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Three: directing current and former executive branch officials not to cooperate with the committees, in response to which nine administration officials defied subpoenas for testimony, namely John Michael "Mick" Mulvaney, Robert B. Blair, John A. Eisenbg , Michael Ellis, Kristin Wells -Griffith, Russell T. Vott, Michael Duffey, Brian Mccormick and T. Ulrich Brechbuhl
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These actions were consistent with President Trump's previous efforts to undermine United States investigations into foreign interference in the United States election. Through these actions, President Trump sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct as well as the unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the house representatives in the exercise of its sole power of impeachment.
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In the history of the republic president has ever ordered the complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry or sought to obstruct and impede so comprehensively the ability of the house of representatives to investigate high crimes and misdemeanors. This abuse of office served to cover up the president's own repeated misconduct and defuse and control the power of impeachment and thus to nullify a vital constitutional safeguard vested solely in the house of representatives.
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In all of this President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as president and subversive of the constitutional government to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Wherefore president trump by such conduct has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.
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ROBERTS>> The question is on the second article of impeachment. Senators, how say you, is the respondent Donald John trump guilty or not guilty? The clerk will call the roll.
CLERK>> Mister Alexander, not guilty. Miss Baldwin. Guilty. Mister Barrasso. Not guilty. Mister Bennett. Guilty.
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Mrs. Blackburn? Not guilty. Mister Blumenthal? Guilty. Mister Blunt? Not guilty. Mister Booker? Guilty. Mister Boozeman? Not guilty.
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Mister Braun? Not guilty. Mister Brown? Guilty. Mister Burr? Not guilty. Miss Cantwell? Guilty. Mister Capito? Not guilty.
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Mister Cardin. Guilty. Mister Carper? Guilty. Mister Casey? Guilty. Mister Cassidy? Not guilty. Miss Collins? Not guilty.
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Mister Coons? Guilty. Mister Cornyn? Not guilty. Miss Cortez masto? Guilty.
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Mister Cotton, not guilty. Mister Cramer. Not guilty. mister Crapo, not guilty. Mister Cruz. Not guilty. Mister Daines. Not guilty. Miss Duckworth. Guilty. Mister Durbin. Guilty. Mister enzi, not guilty. Miss ernst. Not guilty.
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Mrs Feinstein. Guilty. Mrs. Fischer. Not guilty. Mister Gardner. Not guilty. Mrs. Gillibrand. Guilty. Mister graham. Not guilty. Mister grassley. Not guilty. Miss Harris. Guilty. Miss Hassan. Guilty.
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Mister Hawley? Not guilty. Mister Heinrich? Guilty. Miss Hirono? Guilty. Mister Hoeven? Not guilty. Mrs. Hyde Smith? Not guilty.
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Mister Inhofe? Not guilty. Mister Johnson? Not guilty. Mister Jones? Guilty. Mister Kaine? Guilty. Mister Kennedy? Not guilty.
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Mister king? Guilty. Miss Klobuchar? Guilty. Mister Lankford? Not guilty. Mister Leahy? Guilty
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Mister Lee. Not guilty. Mrs. Loeffler. Not guilty. Mister MANCHIN. guilty. Mister Markey. guilty. Mister Mcconnell. Not guilty. Miss mcsally. Not guilty. Mister Menendez. Guilty. Mister Merkley. Guilty.
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Mister Moran. Not guilty. Miss murkowski. Not guilty. Mister Murphy. guilty. Miss Murray, guilty. Mister Paul, not guilty. Mister perdue. Not guilty. Mister Peters. Guilty. Mister Portman. Not guilty. Mister Reid. Guilty. Mister Risch. Not guilty. Mister Roberts. Not guilty.
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CLERK>> MISTER ROMNEY?
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ROMNEY>> Not guilty.
CLERK>> Not Guilty.
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Miss rosen? Guilty. Mister rounds. Not guilty. Mister Rubio. Not guilty. Mister Sanders. Guilty. Mister sasse. Not guilty. Mister Schatz. Guilty. Mister schumer. Guilty. Mister Scott of Florida. Not guilty.
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Mister Scott of South Carolina. Not guilty. Mrs. Shaheen. Guilty. Mister Shelby. Not guilty. Miss Sinema, guilty. Miss Smith, guilty. Miss Stabenow, guilty. Mister Sullivan, not guilty. Mister tester. Guilty. Mister Thune. Not guilty. Mister tillis. Not guilty. Mister toome. Not guilty. Mister Udall. Guilty.
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Mister van Hollen. Guilty. Mister Warner. Guilty. Miss Warren. Guilty. Mister Whitehouse, guilty. Mister wicker. Not guilty. Minister wyden. guilty. Mister Young. Not guilty.
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ROBERTS>>>> On this article of impeachment, 47 senators have pronounced Donald John Trump, President of the United States, guilty as charged. 53 senators have pronounced him not guilty as charged. Two thirds of the senators present not having produced in guilty, the senate adjudges that respondent Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is not guilty as charged in the second article of impeachment.
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The presiding officer directs judgment to be entered in accordance with the judgment of the Senate as follows. The senate having tried Donald John Trump, President of the United States on two articles of impeachment exhibited against him by the House of Representatives, and two thirds of the senators present not having found him guilty of the charges contained therein, it is therefore ordered and adjudged that the said Donald John Trump be and he is hereby acquitted of the charges said articles.
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MCCONNELL>> Mister chief justice?
ROBERTS>> The majority leader is recognized .
MCCONNELL>> I sent an order to the desk .
ROBERTS>> The clerk will report.
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CLERK>> Order that the secretary be directed to communicate to the secretary of state as provided by rule 23 of the rules of procedure and practice in the senate when sitting on impeachment trials and also to the house of representatives the judgment of the senate in the case of Donald John Trump and transmit a certified copy of the judgment to each.
ROBERTS>> Without objection the order will be entered.
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MCCONNELL>> Mister chief justice?
ROBERTS>> The majority leader is recognized.
MCCONNELL>> Before this process fully concludes I want to very quickly acknowledge a few of the people who helped the Senate fulfill our duty these past weeks. First and foremost, I know my colleagues join me in thanking chief justice Roberts for presiding over the Senate trial with a clear head, steady hand, and the forbearance that this rare occasion commands. [Applause]
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We know full well that his presence as our presiding officer came in addition to, not instead of, his day job across the street. So the Senate thanks the Chief Justice and his staff who helped him perform this unique role. Like his predecessor, Chief Justice Rehnquist, the senate will ard chief Justice Roberts the Golden Gavel, to commemorate his time presiding over this boy. We typically award this to new senators after 100 hours in the chair but I think we can agree that chief justice has put in his due and then some.
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The page is delivering the gavel.
ROBERTS>> Thank you very much.
MCCONNELL>> Of course, there are countless senate professionals whose efforts were essential. I have more thorough thanks to offer next week to all of those teams, form the secretary of the senate's office to the parliamentarian, to sergeant at arms team and beyond.
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But there are two more groups I'd like to single out now. First, the two different classes of senate pages who participated this trial. Their footwork and cool under pressure literally kept the floor running. Our current class came on board right in the middle of the third presidential impeachment trial in American history and quickly found themselves hand delivering 180 question cards from senators' desks to the dias. No pressure, right guys?
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So thank you all very much for your good work . [Applause]
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And second, the fine men and women of the capital police. We know that the safety of our democracy literally rests in their hands every single day. But the heightened measures surrounding the trial meant even more hours and even more work and even more vigilance. Thank you all very much for your service to this body and to the country . [Applause]
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SCHUMER>> Mr Chief Justice?
ROBERTS>> The chair recognizes the democratic leader.
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SCHUMER>> I join the Republican leader in thanking the personnel who aided the Senate over the past several weeks. Capital police do an outstanding job day in, day out to protect the members of this chamber, their staffs, the press and everyone who works in and visits this capital. They were asked to work extra shifts and in greater numbers to provide additional security over the past three weeks. Thank you to every one of them.
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I too would like to thank those wonderful pages. I so much enjoyed you with your serious faces walking down right here and giving the chief justice our questions. As the leader noted, the new class of pages started midway in this impeachment trial. When you take a new job you are usually given a few days to take stock of things, get up to speed.
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This class was given no such leeway but they stepped right in, didn't miss a beat. Ferrying hundreds of questions from US senators to the chief justice on national television is not how most of us spend our first week at work. But they did it with aplomb. I'd also like to extend my personal thank you to David Howk(sp?), director of the office of accessibility services; Tyler Pumphrey, the supervisor; and Grace Ridgway, the wonderful director of capital facilities.
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Everyone graces -- on Grace's team worked so hard to make sure we were ready for impeachment. Gary Richardson, known affectionately to us as Tiny, the chief chamber attendant. Jim Hoover and the cabinet shop who built new cabinets to deprive us of the use of our electronics and fliphones during the trial.
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Brenda Byrd. Brenda Byrd and her team did a spectacular job keeping the capital clean, and Lyden Webb and his team moved the furniture and then moved it again and again. Grace, we appreciate your hard work. Please convey our sincerest thanks to your staff. Thank you all, the whole staff, for your diligent work through many long days and late nights during this trying time in our nation's history.
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MCCONNELL> Mr. Chief Justice.
ROBERTS >> And the chair wishes to make a very brief statement. I would like to begin by thanking the majority leader and democratic leader for their support as I attempted to carry out ill-defined responsibilities in an unfamiliar setting. They ensured that I had the wise counsel of the senate itself through its secretary and her legislative staff. I am especially grateful to the parliamentarian and her deputy for their unfailing patience and keen insight. I am likewise grateful to the sergeant at arms and his staff for the assistance and many courtesies extended during my of required residency.
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And thank you all for making my presence here as comfortable as possible. As I depart the chamber I do so with an invitation to visit the court. By long tradition and in memory of the 135 years we sat in this building, we keep the front row of the gallery in our courtroom open for members of congress who might want to drop by to see an argument or to escape one. I also depart with sincere good wishes as we carry out our common commitment to the constitution through the distinct roles assigned to us by that charter.
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You have been generous hosts and I look forward to seeing you again under happier circumstances.The chair recognizes the majority leader.
MCCONNELL>> I move that the senate sitting as a court of impeachment on the articles against Donald John Trump adjourn, sine die.
ROBERTS>> Without objection, the motion is agreed to. The senate sitting as a court of impeachment stands adjourned, sine die.
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PRESIDING OFFICER >> The presiding officer. The deputy sergeant at arms will escort the house managers out of the senate chamber .
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MCCONNELL>> President.
PRESIDING OFFICER >> The majority leader.
MCCONNELL >> I suggest the absence of quorum .
PRESIDING OFFICER>> The clerk will call the roll . [Roll call]
[4:46:44 PM]
>> Some of you are probably wondering what's left to be said after listening to this for the last two or three weeks. As you know I'm occasionally rather parsimonious at times with comments and I thought it best to wait until this is behind us before having a more open discussion with all of you about what we've just witnessed. Now, let me start by say I don't think any of you doubt that this was the most partisan of exercises. We all fully remembered and it's been said numerous times, the speaker said roughly a year ago you shouldn't go forward with an impeachment if it was not bipartisan. I've watched it very carefully over the years, our leadership position overlapped and en before then , we were working together on appropriation bills back in the early day. I'm pretty sure she didn' want to do this . But the fact that she was pulled into this direction
[4:47:46 PM]
against what appeared to be her political instincts a year ago underscores that this was a purely political exercise. Now, having been dragged into something she instinctively felt was a misk, and the second impulse was let's get this over with quickly as possible . Get it out of her, get it over in the othebody and let them deal with it . So that's why you had an abbreviate, trunted rush job over in the house. But even during that abbreviated period, it W pretty clear that they are amassed a significant body of evidence from witnesses which you heard them argue about over here frequently. Had they provided with us in
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the house record testimony from 13 witnesses, deposition from 17 witnesses, then of course we had added on top of the 180 questions that we would witness 193 witnesses, video clips and 28,000 pages of evidence. So I asked my staff to count the number of times we heard from the house managers during their presentation, how many Tes it was already proven. There were 60 times, 60 in which house managers said during their presentation to us that the case was either proven or proof, 60 times. There were 33 more times when one or more of the house managers said the evidence was overwhelming. So where D the nonsense about witnesses come from ? I have a pretty good idea.
[4:49:53 PM]
After this early political exercise (house, it came over to the senate and there was a lot of pull data taken, how are we going to sell this to senators? How are we going to sell it to the erican people even though we already have all O this testimony and all of these Esses, what polls well ? Why course, if you ask the average citizen whether they think there ought to B witnesses in the trial , you're going to get an answer that you want. So the speaker I gather decided to sit on the impeachment papers after arguing that this was a matter of great urgency and the president needed to be removed from office as sooas possible . Sit on them for a month to laughably think that somehow gave me leverage to concede their principal political argument which was this is all about witnesses over H on our side . Well, that brought one of
[4:50:55 PM]