I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about impeachment lately -- on the news, online, and maybe from your own friends and family. 

          As impeachment proceedings begin in the U.S. Congress, I wanted you to also hear directly from me as your representative in the United States Senate.

          Impeachment is a grave step. It should never be used over political or policy differences, no matter how strong those disagreements may be.  It must be reserved for the most weighty situations in which there is substantial evidence of serious lawbreaking or fundamental abuse of power. 

          Unfortunately, we are now at a moment where there is substantial evidence of both.

          The presidency comes with awesome powers, and our Constitution and our entire system of government is designed to ensure that those powers are constrained by the rule of law.

          There is substantial evidence that President Trump has violated those boundaries.

          The Mueller report lays out extensive evidence of criminal wrongdoing by President Trump in four cases of obstruction of justice, including one case of witness tampering.  More than one thousand former federal prosecutors have written to Congress stating that any ordinary American committing these acts would be indicted for felony crimes.

          And now we are presented with substantial evidence that President Trump used his office to solicit the foreign government of Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.  If true, this is an enormous abuse of power.

          Our founders were deeply afraid of an imperial presidency where the President would begin to act outside the law.  They guarded against that by giving the House of Representatives the power of impeachment, which is equivalent to an indictment, and the Senate the power to hold a trial following impeachment.  Conviction requires a supermajority of two-thirds of the Senators. This guarantees that a conviction must have bi-partisan support.

          As I ponder this moment, I keep thinking about the enormous responsibility Congress has to hold the President accountable to the rule of law.  It is a responsibility that must be exercised without partisan taint.  We must strive for a standard that would be applied equally regardless if a President is in one’s own party or in the opposing party.

          I encourage all Oregonians to be engaged as we wrestle with the process before us.  Read the key sections of the Mueller Report.  Examine the whistleblower letter and the testimony it leads to.  And feel free to share your thoughts by calling or writing my office.

          While the House proceeds with the impeachment inquiry, I hope the Senate will turn to the many issues we face.  Good legislation is awaiting action in the Senate on healthcare, housing, education, infrastructure, jobs, equality of opportunity, and carbon pollution.  We would do the nation a real service to engage in debating and voting on the bills that address these issues.

          If the House does act on impeachment and there is a Senate trial, I pledge as a Senate juror to work to ensure that the rules established for the trial ensure that the Senate and the American people get a complete picture of the evidence and the appropriate context to understand its significance.  Moreover, I pledge to weigh that evidence carefully and conscientiously.

          This will be a test of the rule of law and our system of government, and whether and how we rise to the occasion will have impacts on American government far into the future.  

          Impeachment is a step Congress should resolve to take only as a last resort, but we must be equally resolved to safeguard the principle that, in America, nobody is above the law.

All my best,
Jeff