Congressman Fred Upton has issued this afternoon the following statement opposing the Articles of Impeachment:
“Regrettably the impeachment process has become exactly what our great founding fathers warned us against. It has been highly partisan and clearly motivated by what I believe is an attempt to overturn the last election. I get it. Democrats aren’t happy with the result. But the time to vote on the next President is next November, not next week.
Within 24 hours of President Trump’s election, efforts began to impeach him. We can’t have the impeachment process decided by political whim. It must be decided by the standard set by the founders of our democracy.
The President’s behavior was wrongheaded, inappropriate, and ill-advised, but was it impeachable? My answer is no.
I might add I voted against the abuse of power article of impeachment against President Clinton for many of the same reasons.
Many times throughout history Presidents have demanded executive privilege. The Constitution establishes an independent judiciary for a reason, to settle disputes between the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. Since the courts have not ruled in this situation, obstruction of Congress is premature.
After these votes, we need to work on bridging the partisan divide in this country. We can’t rewind; we need to reset. Together, we need to focus on what the American people really want us to focus on, solving problems that actually impact their lives.”
