Tracy Mitrano, Democratic candidate for Congress (NY-23rd),
applauds the House of Representatives for voting in favor of the ongoing
impeachment inquiry.
"If I were in
Congress today I would solemnly—not boastfully, not lightly, not
impulsively—vote to establish clear, transparent rules to guide the public
inquiry into impeachment.
“My vote would be based on the President’s actions. By
his own admission, President Trump not only withheld aid to Ukraine and asked
them to investigate his political rival, he also clearly tied that aid to the
investigation. Whether that is the exact definition of a quid pro quo or not,
this is a dangerous precedent to set.
“I wouldn’t be comfortable with any party’s leadership
using our foreign aid to score domestic political points. No one is above the
law, and the President must be held accountable in a full public inquiry."
Mitrano has a sharp response to GOP incumbent Tom Reed’s
vote against the impeachment inquiry. Reed said he hasn’t seen “the smoking gun
evidence that warrants an impeachment-level event.”
“As Reed's
bipartisan facade crumbles under the weight of the House vote, it is important
to remember three key points:
“One: With respect to the substance of this inquiry, the
President offered it up himself in the original memo of the call compiled by
White House staff.
“Two: A ‘smoking gun,’ as Reed and his GOP colleagues
like to imply, is not a test. The
federal decision last week that legitimized this inquiry speaks for itself.
“Finally, the partisan divide in this country obscures a
simple statistical fact: More than 50 percent of unaffiliated voters in this
country support the inquiry. It is not merely a construction of ‘the left.’”
