Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler’s reasons for voting against impeaching President Donald Trump are not credible.
On Friday, when the House Judiciary Committee voted to send articles of impeachment to the full House of Representatives, Herrera Beutler issued a statement explaining why she plans to vote against those articles. The House is expected to vote this week on two charges — obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.
“The obstruction of Congress article is the least credible of the two,” Herrera Beutler wrote. “No one at the White House has defied a court order.”
No, but President Trump instructed officials to not testify and declined to turn over documents related to the investigation. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney are among several staff members who ignored congressional subpoenas while the administration claimed executive privilege. The impeachment articles accuse the president of “the unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas.”
Herrera Beutler says the White House disagrees with Congress’ right to compel testimony and has sought a judicial review of the subpoenas. In defending White House attempts to stonewall the investigation, Herrera Beutler has abdicated Congress’ role as a co-equal branch of government. Regardless of party affiliation, members of Congress must see themselves as a check against unfettered power in the executive branch — just as the framers of the Constitution intended.
Herrera Beutler also opposes the article charging Trump with abuse of power, claiming witnesses “could only provide secondhand testimony.” This is inaccurate. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Tim Morrison of the National Security Council and Jennifer Williams, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, all listened to the president’s July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and then told Congress what they heard.
Marie Yovanovitch, former ambassador to Ukraine, testified about what she had been told regarding why Trump was removing her from her post. Gordon Sondland, ambassador to the European Union, testified about discussions with Ukrainian officials.
The phone call is at the center of the impeachment charges. Trump is accused of withholding congressionally approved aid to Ukraine while saying, “I would like you to do us a favor.” He later pressed Zelenskiy to investigate the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Herrera Beutler notes that aid to Ukraine was eventually provided. But she fails to mention that it was not provided until after assertions from an anonymous whistleblower led to an investigation of the phone call. Under Herrera Beutler’s standard, if a bank robber got caught and promised to return the money, they should face no repercussions. Republicans have argued that presidents often withhold promised aid to other countries; but none has been accused of doing so in exchange for personal benefits, rather than to advance the interests of the United States.
When the House of Representatives votes on the articles of impeachment, members must follow their conscience in weighing a monumental decision. Impeaching a president is not to be taken lightly, regardless of whether or not the Senate eventually opts to remove that person from office.
We can respect Herrera Beutler’s decision but find her reasoning to be disingenuous. She is the one who will have to live with her vote, but all Americans will have to live with the consequences.
