Upton Votes No On Impeachment Resolution

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Congressman Fred Upton is among the 194 U.S. House Republicans to have voted no on the impeachment procedure resolution approved by Democrats on Thursday. WSJM News spoke to Upton about the impeachment inquiry into President Trump earlier this week before the resolution language was released, and he told us he wasn’t satisfied with how the process was going.

“There’s been a lot of frustration, particularly on the Republican side that it’s not been an open process,” Upton said. “It’s not been transparent. Our members are not able to question witnesses that are there. They’ve been shut down.”

At that point, Upton had not seen the Democratic impeachment inquiry resolution. It was approved by the House Thursday on a vote of 232 to 196. Upton issued a statement after the vote, saying he wanted “an open, transparent, and fact-based process” because he’s been troubled by what has come out. While he says there are legitimate questions that need to be answered, he has been frustrated by the lack of transparency. He calls Thursday’s vote “further distraction from working on important, bipartisan issues.”

Upton’s full post-vote statement is below:

“After closely reviewing the text of House Resolution 660 and listening to my constituents, I voted no on today’s resolution. The resolution itself is a little inside baseball, but as I view it, the Democrats appear to be trying to put the genie back in the bottle after they already started this investigation which has only featured closed-door hearings and testimonies available to a select number of members.

“I have been absolutely clear that from the beginning I wanted to see an open, transparent, and fact-based process because I have been troubled by what has come out. Legitimate questions remain to be answered. But I have been frustrated by how closed-off the process has been so far. This is not how this is supposed to work in any committee, and I believe the resolution we voted on today would fail to put an end to the lack of transparency we have seen throughout this investigation.

“Today’s vote also only serves as further distraction from working on important, bipartisan issues. This week was wasted talking all about this vote – even though it simply reaffirms the current broken process – and now there are only 16 legislative days scheduled for the remainder of the year, leaving little time to do the nation’s business. I believe that it is possible to walk and chew gum at the same time, and I will continue to fight for solutions that address the biggest issues facing the folks of southwest Michigan, including lowering prescription drug costs, funding our national defense, and strengthening our economy.”