WASHINGTON, D.C. (WNCT) Congressman G. K. Butterfield (NC-01) and Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. (NC-03) issued statements after the United States Senate voted to acquit President Donald Trump of both Articles of Impeachment without hearing from witnesses or requesting documents.
Congressman G.K. Butterfield said:
“I was hopeful that Senators would evaluate all of the available evidence to determine the guilt or innocence of President Trump, said Congressman Butterfield. “Republican Senators were unwilling to hear from a single witness or compel any documents to be presented during the Senate trial. The trial was incomplete and it abruptly ended when Republican Senators concluded they didn’t want to know the truth.”
“The truth and the Constitution were on trial in the Senate. Senators took a solemn oath to ‘do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws.’ That did not happen. History will record that today’s vote of acquittal will severely damage future Congresses and prevent oversight of the Executive Branch. The Nation’s Founders didn’t believe the President is above the law. They didn’t believe that a President should be able to thumb his nose at the Congress of the United States. They didn’t believe that a President should be able to blatantly refuse to answer serious charges of Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. With this acquittal, the Founders are disappointed and the majority of Americans who wanted a fair trial are disappointed. The Constitution was dealt a severe blow from this highly partisan acquittal.”
Congressman Greg Murphy said:
“After more than four long, divisive and counter-productive months, impeachment is finally over and the president has been rightfully acquitted—the actions of the president did not warrant the charges. Congress has been stuck at a standstill for too long. Having been sworn into Congress only a week prior to the beginning of the impeachment inquiry, I am thankful this storm has passed and I can finally begin the legislative work eastern North Carolinians elected me to do,” said Murphy.
“Congress could and should have been working on issues like healthcare, prescription drugs, border security and more instead of this tiresome and illegitimate impeachment. Hopefully, we can finally get back to tending to the business of the people. Unfortunately, I doubt that will be the case after the petty and partisan theatrics displayed by Speaker Pelosi at the State of the Union address last night. Bipartisan efforts that would benefit the American people will likely be forgone due to the Speaker’s disdain for the president and her fear of giving him legislative victories. America deserves better.”
