Friday, U.S. Senate candidate former Attorney General Jeff Sessions (R) denounced statements by Sen. Doug Jones, D-Alabama, supporting Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-California, position that she will hold up delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate until the Republican Senate majority gives Senate Democrats more favorable terms on the pending impeachment trial of Pres. Donald J. Trump (R),
Sessions said that Jones’s position, “Stood directly against the wishes of the people of Alabama when he declared that Speaker Pelosi was acting fairly.”
On ABC TV’s “This Week,” Doug Jones said he supported Nancy Pelosi’s decision to withhold articles of impeachment from the U.S. Senate. Monday, in an Op-Ed for The Washington Post, Jones repeated his support of the impeachment process including testimony from key Administration witnesses with first-hand knowledge to testify. The President had blocked them during the House’s investigation from participating in that process.
“In two recent public statements, Alabama’s Democratic Senator Doug Jones has clearly revealed that he is in total support of Nancy Pelosi’s and Chuck Schumer’s politically-driven impeachment strategy against President Trump,” Sessions charged. “Doug Jones was wrong and stood directly against the wishes of the people of Alabama when he declared that Speaker Pelosi was acting fairly when she refused to transmit the articles of impeachment of President Trump to the Senate for a prompt disposition. This was another defining moment that allowed Alabamians to see Senator Jones’ support and loyalty for Pelosi’s and Schumer’s partisan impeachment strategy.”
Under the Constitution, the House of Representatives may impeach the President of the United States or any federal officers, including judges and cabinet officials. Determining guilt and punishment, if any, are solely the authority of the Senate.
“Speaker Pelosi’s stated reason for withholding the articles of impeachment was to gain leverage over the Republican-led Senate and dictate how they are to conduct the trial,” Sessions said. “This will never happen. That power is given in the Constitution to the Senate alone.”
“Doug Jones further says that witnesses should be called by the Senate to ensure a fair trial,” Sessions continued. “But tellingly, he is only in favor of the witnesses pre-approved by Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi. Senator Jones apparently has zero interest in hearing from potential witnesses like Vice President Joe Biden or his son, Hunter Biden, or any other persons whose testimonies could implicate themselves or others in a web of self-dealing, and thereby give additional evidence justifying President Trump’s concern with corruption in Ukraine.”
“Senator Jones isn’t interested in an impartial search for the truth,” Sessions said. “He is a foot soldier in support of the team dedicated to a leftist, socialistic future for this country. He supports the wrong team, and the wrong vision. He wants to have a Democratic Senate majority that would block confirmations of conservative judges and would result in liberal Democrats claiming the chairmanship of every committee in the Senate. This Democratic majority, paired with their existing majority in the House, would then be able to totally dictate the Congressional agenda.”
“Doug Jones is now openly on the Democratic impeachment team, for all to see,” Sessions accused. “He has never clearly defended President Trump from any of the unfairness that Alabama’s choice for President has faced.”
Doug Jones is the only Democrat to win a statewide elected office in Alabama since 2008.
“He is one of them, not one of us,” Sessions continued. “He cannot continue to speak for Alabama. Even if Chuck Schumer approves him voting “no” on impeachment, it will have zero real meaning. The effect of his actions will have been to enable this abuse of the impeachment process to continue beyond reason. That is the Democratic agenda.”
While House Democrats accuse Trump of abuse of power and contempt of Congress, Republicans dismiss the impeachment effort as a “circus”, a “sham,” and as a partisan “witch hunt.”
“From the beginning, the Democrats have had a clear goal of removing our duly-elected President; or, alternatively, to hurt him in his re-election effort, while weakening his ability to achieve his much-needed conservative policy goals,” Sessions added. “In this process, aided by the liberal news media, Democrats have advanced a narrative supported by innuendos, errors, and lies, but have produced no proof of a crime by President Trump. This dangerous obsession has been an abuse of the grave impeachment process in our Constitution, and a stain on the integrity of the House of Representatives.”
Sessions previously held this seat from 1997 to 2017, but vacated it after he was confirmed as Trump’s first Attorney General. Trump fired him in November 2018 after Democrats won a majority in the House of Representatives in congressional midterm elections.
“Alabama needs a Senator of courage and conviction who believes in and will fight relentlessly for our highest and best values, not those of Speaker Pelosi and Leader Schumer,” Sessions said. “This election will be a time of reckoning.”
Sessions faces a crowded Republican field for the Republican nomination.
The Republican Primary will be on March 3.
