July 25, 2019, Washington, D.C. – Today, Vice Chair Congresswoman Katherine Clark issued the below statement:  

Throughout his life and presidency, Donald Trump has proven himself unfit to serve. He has no respect for the rule of law, has put kids in cages, regularly tramples on the Constitution, and uses racist words, acts and policies to divide our country. Since the release of the Mueller Report in April, it has been clear that the President committed impeachable offenses by welcoming interference from a hostile foreign power in the 2016 election and then attempting to obstruct the investigation into his unpatriotic actions. Moreover, he said he would do it all again if given the chance.

I deeply respect the committee work of House Democrats to hold the President accountable, including hearings, subpoenas and lawsuits. All of our efforts to put the facts before the American people, however, have been met with unprecedented stonewalling and obstruction. That is why I believe we need to open an impeachment inquiry that will provide us a more formal way to fully uncover the facts.

An impeachment inquiry is a process, not an outcome, but I fear there is no amount of wrongdoing that we could uncover that would convince Senate Republicans to hold the President accountable. Regardless of the outcome, I believe we have a patriotic duty to uncover the facts for the American people and uphold the rule of law.

Revisiting the President’s obstruction of justice during the Special Counsel’s testimony was disturbing. However, the moment that truly stunned me was when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked a vote on an election security bill the same day Mr. Mueller warned that Russia interfered in our elections and is continuing to do so.

We can’t allow Republican inaction to prop the door open for thieves to steal an election. We must be relentless in exposing the truth, act to protect our national security, and ensure that every eligible American can vote without foreign interference.