State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, and Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed a House Concurrent Resolution asking their colleagues in both the House and Senate to condemn the actions of the U.S. Congress for pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Donald J. Trump instead of performing the serious work prescribed to them by the Constitution, which the people elected them to fulfill and which each member swore to uphold.
West and Dahm invite any member of the Legislature to sign onto House Concurrent Resolution 1009 as a co-author. They will request the resolution be considered during the Second Session of the 57th Legislature, which opens February 3. Copies of the resolution will be sent to Trump, the clerk of the U.S. House and the secretary of the U.S. Senate as well as the Oklahoma Congressional Delegation.
“This Concurrent Resolution condemning the Congress of the United States for pursuing impeachment proceedings against a duly elected President is about the blatant disregard for due process and should shock and terrify every American citizen,” West said. “The partisan attacks on our president have blinded many members of Congress, and they are refusing to do the jobs they were elected by their constituents to do. Congress is sent to our nation’s Capital to represent the constituents of their districts, protect American interests and protect American citizens. What is happening right now in Washington, D.C.. is an embarrassment to our country and a full assault on our United States Constitution. We cannot stand by and allow this abuse of power to continue.”
Dahm added, “For far too long members of Congress have blatantly ignored the Constitution and the rights protected in it. We’ve seen numerous laws passed and introduced that violate due process, and now this new attack on the president is another example of how little regard is being shown for the protections in our Bill of Rights. If there are those willing to violate these rights in going after a duly elected president, the future of what may be used against our citizens is of great concern. We must take a stand for our rights.”
The resolution sets out that the American people expect and deserve an efficient and hard-working federal government, free of distracting bias and politically driven theatrics. It states that many of the current membership of Congress are not abiding by the merits of the republic as given by our nation’s founders, forefathers and the intent of the U.S. Constitution.
The resolution further explains there are many serious issues Congress is responsible for addressing, including protecting taxpayers’ money from waste, maintaining our nation’s military for times of declared war, securing our borders through proper immigration and naturalization laws, and leaving all unenumerated powers to the control of the individual states.
West and Dahm state in the resolution that the current actions of the U.S. Congress are unconstitutional in that they would prohibit the accused from facing his accuser, they reject witnesses in the accused’s defense, and that pushing a predetermined political impeachment inquiry violates due process and only serves to foster divisiveness and an atmosphere of distrust.
They further state that Trump was duly elected by the people in accordance with the requirements of the U.S. Constitution, and members of Congress should respect their oath of office and the will of the people.