In a speech spanning over four minutes long on Thursday, Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) took to the floor of the United States Senate to passionately advocate for an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump, saying, “We didn’t take oaths to support the president of the United States.”
“We’re in some troubled times,” Jones began in a video he posted of the speech.
“Events of the past two weeks have been nothing short of stunning,” he claimed. “They have been stunning in the speed in which they have unfolded. They have been stunning and disturbing in the allegations that have been made regarding the conduct of the president of the United States — allegations that go to the heart of national security.”
He then added that the allegations challenge “whether or not the president is upholding his oath to the Constitution of the United States or abusing the power of the presidency.”
Jones said the “process” of the impeachment inquiry was merely beginning before decrying the “political” nature of the reactions he has seen to allegations against Trump.
“We didn’t take oaths to support the president of the United States,” Jones asserted.
He subsequently emphasized that he and his colleagues took an oath “to defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic.”
“[H]istory will judge us,” Jones commented. “They will determine whether or not we acted with courage and convictions or whether we just simply tested the political winds.”
“Ladies and gentlemen and colleagues, in the name of God we’ve got to do our duty,” Jones stressed, seemingly choking up.
“We have to do our duty,” he continued, “We have to make sure that we fulfill our oaths. That we are not concerned about how many votes it might get us or how many votes it might lose. We have to fulfill that solemn obligation. Whether we know the outcome or not. Whether we get pressure from a side or not. Whether or not there are millions of dollars spent in TV and radio telling us to vote a certain way. In the name of God, we should do our duty and nothing less.”
Watch:
When I became a senator, I swore an oath to the Constitution. Every senator did. And that’s what I plan to do and I hope my colleagues do their duty, too.
Watch for my thoughts on the Ukraine investigation pic.twitter.com/emUBxS8fJy
— Doug Jones (@SenDougJones) September 26, 2019
The U.S Senate has no current role into the impeachment inquiry. Only if the U.S. House were to conclude the inquiry by bringing articles of impeachment and then impeaching Trump would a trial commence in the Senate.
This came after Jones on Wednesday called the transcript of Trump’s call with the Ukrainian president “very troubling.”
Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn
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