On what ought to’ve been the main focus of Trump’s first impeachment
“Do not get me unsuitable, it wasn’t as a result of I had any doubts about impeachment, however I believed that the central impeachable offense and the unique sin of the Trump presidency was that he had transformed the presidency and the complete government department right into a money-making operation. This was the founder’s worst nightmare. He had transformed the place of president into an instrument of self-enrichment, and he mentioned on the primary days of taking workplace, he wouldn’t hand over his greater than 500 corporations and profit-making ventures. He would possibly flip over day-to-day accountability over a few of them to his children. However he was nonetheless going to be — as everybody is aware of, Donald Trump’s persona — in management and he could be taking advantage of them. So he raked in thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of {dollars} in international emoluments. They simply flagrantly violated that on an nearly each day foundation, similar to they violated the home emoluments clause, which says the president is restricted to his personal wage in workplace and might’t obtain every other cash from the federal authorities. But all of those federal departments and companies underneath Trump’s management have been spending cash at his motels and golf programs, thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of {dollars} in cash paid to his companies, and he would say, ‘Oh, properly, I am not accepting my wage.’ That is the one factor he is allowed to simply accept.” — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), member of the Jan. 6 choose committee
On working to persuade Republicans that Trump is harmful
“Properly, as a result of he’s harmful. I spoke to Republican senators in the event that they got here to speak to me throughout the trial and I mentioned, ‘You’ve acquired to do that for the nation, you’ve acquired to do it for the Structure and also you’ve acquired to do it to your social gathering, as a result of he’ll destroy the Republican Get together as we all know it.’ I’m extra satisfied of that than ever right this moment. However I predicted that on the time since you see, I had written a letter to Donald Trump urging him to come back and to testify. They have been whining about due course of. I mentioned the guts of due course of is the chance to be heard, so come and be heard. After all, they mentioned no. Think about every other American president or every other American citizen saying no, they do not wish to testify in the event that they have been falsely being accused of incitement to violent rebellion in opposition to the union. However he did not wish to do it. So he did not come and he would not take part. His legal professionals denounced the rebellion and so they mentioned they’d nothing to do with it. However once more, I predicted again then that Trump would come to embrace the rebellion, and he would attempt to lionize the insurrectionists and make heroes and martyrs out of them. After all, that’s exactly what’s occurred. However he is such a snowflake. He wasn’t prepared to face up on the time and proclaim his nice stature because the Mussolini of America. He simply did not have the braveness to do this.” — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), member of the Jan. 6 choose committee
On what success would seem like for the Jan. 6 committee
“Success for us is telling the reality — in complete and fine-grained element — a narrative that is sensible to the American individuals, and a narrative that demonstrates how far outdoors of our American constitutional system and out of doors of our American political tradition these occasions have been. And to show enormous numbers of individuals in opposition to political coups and in opposition to insurrections, after which to comply with via on a set of coverage suggestions and legislative suggestions that can permit us to fortify our establishments.” — Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), member of the Jan. 6 choose committee
