Moulton Statement on Decision to Begin Impeachment Proceedings

WASHINGTON---This morning, following reports over the weekend that President Trump withheld foreign aid to Ukraine in an attempt to gather information on former Vice President Joe Biden, a group of freshmen Members of Congress who have national security backgrounds called on the House’s leaders to begin impeachment proceedings in a Washington Post op-ed.

This afternoon, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced the House would open impeachment proceedings.

 

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) said:

 

“This morning, the freshmen members of Congress who served our nation in defense and national security roles demonstrated moral courage and lived by their oaths to protect and defend the Constitution by calling for impeachment. I swore this same oath when I joined the Marines, and it is because of this oath that I have been calling for impeachment proceedings to begin since 2017. I am glad the House’s leaders took the next step today” Moulton said. “This is about national security, the rule of law, and patriotism, and it comes down to doing what’s right. By his own admission, the president used foreign aid to bribe the leaders of Ukraine to attempt to get the upper hand in the 2020 election. That fits the definition of an impeachable offense in every sense. Congress must now hold President Trump accountable, and if members of his administration stall these proceedings, Congress should hold them in contempt.”

 

Background

Moulton was one of the first members of Congress to support opening impeachment proceedings. He voted for it in October 2017 and has actively called for it since.

Earlier today, Moulton spoke with CNN about impeachment. Clips are available here.

The Washington Post op-ed is available here.