Charles Ernest Grassley

“ A rush to convict or acquit can lead to cut corners and overheated rhetoric.
We are each bound by our oath to "do impartial justice." As President pro tempore of this institution, I recognize that we must also do justice to the Senate and to the Republic that this Senate serves.
This trial began with a full and fair debate on the rules to guide our process. We considered and voted on 11 amendments over nearly 13 hours. Consistent with precedent, the Senate adopted rules allowing the same length of time for arguments and questions as was agreed to unanimously in the 1999 Clinton impeachment. ”

“ For the many ways in which the House failed in the fundamentals of oversight and for the terrible new precedent this obstruction article would set, I will vote not guilty.
Another point: There has been debate about the whistleblower, whose complaint motivated the House’s impeachment inquiry. I have worked for and with whistleblowers for more than 30 years. I have sponsored numerous laws to strengthen whistleblower protections. Attempts by anyone to "out" a whistleblower just to sell an article or to score a political point are not helpful at all. ”

“ So far, the State Department has put me off. The news reports today that Secretary Clinton never had a government email address underscores why my inquiry matters. If top State Department officials are conducting government business on private email, the content might never see the light of day. A measure of accountability and transparency is lost. The State Department should fulfill my request from June 2013. ”

“ We have had 17 witnesses and over 70 hours of open, transparent consideration by the Senate. The American people are more than adequately prepared to decide for themselves the fate of the President in November. This decision belongs to the voters. It is time to get the Senate back to work for the American people on issues of substance. ”

“ A top State Department employee, Huma Abedin, worked both for the government and Teneo at the same time and reportedly had a private email account on an email server in the Secretary’s personal residence.
“A number of conflict of interest concerns arise when a government employee is simultaneously being paid by a private company, especially when that company, Teneo, ‘brings together the disciplines of government and public affairs,’ ” Grassley wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry. “Moreover, these concerns are heightened when high level employees, such as Ms. ”

“ The House offers no limiting principle of what motives are allowed. Under such a flexible standard, future House of Representatives could impeach Presidents for taking lawful action for what a majority thinks are the wrong reasons. ”

“ Grassley wrote to State Department Inspector General Steve Linick. “Additionally, it is important to understand whether the State Department’s excessive use of the SGE designation undermines standards of ethics.” ”