House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) claimed that while impeachment is a “very serious matter,” Democrats have not rushed to judgment.
“All the American people understand we did not rush to this judgment,” Hoyer said on CBS News “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
“As a matter of fact, this went on for over a year. And both the Speaker and I said, no, were not there. Were looking at the facts. Were committing oversight, which is our responsibility under the Constitution,” he stated.
He noted that the impeachment process might damage some Democrats chances of getting reelected.
“But we have a duty,” Hoyer insisted. “We have a duty to the country, to the American people, and to the Constitution of the United States.”
“And if we find, after the Judiciary Committee considers all the evidence, that there is reason to believe, probable cause, we lawyers would say, that the president of the United States has committed a high crime and misdemeanor—now, a high crime, according to Hamilton, is an abuse of power, not a crime as we generally think of it, but an abuse of power,” he stated.
He also pushed back against Republicans criticism of how the investigation is being handled. Some, including President Donald Trump, want the whistleblower who helped trigger the entire investigation to publicly testify.
“You wouldnt call the whistleblower. What you call is the people who were actually there, which is what [Rep.] Adam Schiff has done, acting as an investigator,” Hoyer said.
In the interview, Hoyer then said that the House will move when the “facts and the truth dictate what we have.”
The “facts and the truth” will emerge when Schiff (D-Calif.) makes a determination in “terms of testimony and evidence, he will then pursuant to the resolution” before submitting it to the Judiciary Committee, according to Hoyer.
Hoyer said he cannot predict when the public hearings will end.
“Margaret, you ask me a question I dont know the answer to, because I dont know what witnesses are going to come forward, what theyre going to say, what evidence will have to be pursued by not onlRead More – Source
