Local politicians feel impeachment is about politics, not law
Following the Wednesday night vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to impeach President Donald Trump on two charges, we asked our state politicians what they thought of the vote and the impeachment process. (Note that all our state representatives and senator for our area are Republican.)
Sen. Gary Romine
State Sen. Gary Romine, R-Farmington: “It’s very frustrating that the Democrats are using the Constitution for political gain and gamesmanship. I talked to the governor earlier this morning, he was on his way to have lunch with the president. The president’s doing what he needs to do; he’s going about taking care of business in spite of the farce of what the impeachment proceedings were.
“My comments to him were ‘Good for you, and continue that effort.’ That’s simple enough, I don’t want to give it any more credence than it deserves.”
Rep. Dale Wright
State Rep. Dale Wright, R-Farmington: “It appears to me the Democrats are working on circumstantial evidence, on presumptions. It appears to me that this really is a political thing, as opposed to a real criminal matter.
“In particular when they would not allow the Republicans to bring forth any witnesses to ask any questions of, the Democrats controlled everything. It all seemed to be very one-sided, just a very unfair process. In a court of law, you hear both sides of everything, but on this one you only heard the one side. It’s very disappointing that that happened.
“I will say that the president doesn’t always help himself with his tweets, his timing on tweets is absolutely horrible.”
Rep. Mike Henderson
State Rep. Mike Henderson, R-Bonne Terre: “I think this impeachment is more about politics than it is about the law. I think in this country right now we’ve got a divide between the left and the right.
“I personally wish we could get more people who are a little bit more in the middle. I don’t think it’s good for the country right now, I wish that we could come to a consensus that we are going to settle these things at the election. I’m not a robot, I don’t approve of everything he says and does at all times.
“At the same time, we have a lot of things to investigate. I think if we are going to go down that path, then let’s go down it all the way, and let’s look at all of it, and let’s see who did what, which I wouldn’t be afraid of at all, but I don’t think anybody seems to want to do that.
“If you’re going to look at this for President Trump, let’s look at Hunter Biden. How did he get that job? Was it because his dad was Vice President of the United States? Did he use his influence to get that? There’s so many things we could be doing for the good of the country, we are not doing those things right now, which they were elected to do.”
Rep. Chris Dinkins
State Rep. Chris Dinkins, R-Annapolis: “Congressional Democrats have been dead-set on obstructing President Trump and his ‘Make America Great Again’ agenda since he was elected in November 2016.
“These ridiculous impeachment charges make a mockery of our democratic processes and have permanently politicized what should be a rare, necessary and nonpartisan process. For the first time in history a President has been impeached with a completely partisan vote.
“This sham impeachment has been an incredible waste of time and taxpayer money. While I am confident the Senate will dismiss these ridiculous charges, I remain disappointed that this national embarrassment of a process has gone this far.”
We also sought a comment from our U.S. Congress leaders.
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley
U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. (statement): “With last night’s vote, House Democrats have earned a place in history for the worst abuse of the impeachment process ever perpetrated. They have ignored due process, ignored House procedures, and ignored the evidence on their way to adopting the first impeachment articles against a president in history that do not even bother to allege a crime. With a bipartisan coalition voting against impeachment, now they are threatening not to hold a trial. They have harmed the country and disgraced both themselves and the House with their rabidly partisan crusade, and the voters should reward them accordingly in November.”
Shortly after the vote Wednesday night, U.S. Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican, issued his statement, which was included in a previous story. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt’s office stated he intended to issue a statement on television on Sunday.
The area’s state senator and state representatives, who are all Republican, were asked to share what they thought about Trump’s impeachment.
Mark Marberry is a reporter for the Farmington Press and Daily Journal. He can be reached at 573-518-3629, or at mmarberry@farmingtonpressonline.com
