Friday, Dec. 13, 2019

Where do Arizona lawmakers
stand on impeachment?

The House Judiciary Committee is readying the two articles of impeachment brought against President Donald Trump – abuse of power and obstruction of Congress – for the next step in the impeachment process. We examined official statements and social media posts from Arizona’s senators and representatives to determine who is for or against the impeachment of the president.


Tom O'halleran
Tom
O'halleran
Ann Kirkpatrick
Ann
Kirkpatrick
Raul Grijalva
Raúl
Grijalva
Paul Gosar
Paul
Gosar
Andy Biggs
Andy
Biggs
David Schweikert
David
Schweikert
Ruben Gallego
Ruben
Gallego
Debbie Lesko
Debbie
Lesko
Greg Stanton
Greg
Stanton
Kyrsten Sinema
Kyrsten
Sinema
Martha McSally
Martha
McSally
KEY
  • Leans toward impeachment
  • Leans against impeachment
  • Unknown, has not publicly stated
Tom O'halleran

Rep. Tom O'Halleran

Democrat
Arizona’s 1st Congressional District
In office since Jan. 3, 2017
  • Leans toward impeachment
12/13/2019
“I will vote to impeach the President because this bribery and abuse of power violated the constitution and put our national security and our international relationships at risk.”
10/31/2019
“#AZ01: I voted in favor of today's resolution to ensure that this ongoing inquiry remains transparent to the American people and allows them to form their own judgments based on fact. My full statement: [here.]”
Ann Kirkpatrick

Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick

Democrat
Arizona’s 2nd Congressional District
In office since Jan. 3, 2009; (not consecutive terms)
  • Leans toward impeachment
11/19/2019
“Republicans cannot deny the facts and instead are intimidating a decorated U.S. military combat veteran. These baseless character attacks will not change President Trump's corruption and abuse of power.”
11/14/2019
“Ambassador Taylor’s testimony leaves no doubt that @realDonaldTrump used the power of his office to pressure Ukraine into investigating his political rivals. The evidence is overwhelming and these new revelations only bring us a new sense of urgency.”
Raul Grijalva

Rep. Raúl Grijalva

Democrat
Arizona’s 3rd Congressional District
In office since Jan. 7, 2003
  • Leans toward impeachment
12/12/19
“Numerous investigations and public hearings have demonstrated the uncontested facts: President Trump abused his power when he withheld military aid from Ukraine in a corrupt attempt to extort them into interfering in the 2020 election.

I will vote to #DefendOurDemocracy.”
12/10/19
“It’s a sad day when the President unapologetically violates his oath of office and jeopardizes our national security.

Congress is forced to act, and I will support these impeachment articles when they come for a vote to the House floor.”
12/5/19
“It's abundantly clear that Trump abused his power and endangered our national security when he attempted to extort Ukraine into interfering in our elections. Congress has a moral obligation to #DefendOurDemocracy & impeach this reckless President.”
12/3/19
“The facts are clear: President Trump abused his power to investigate a political rival when he attempted to extort Ukraine by withholding congressionally-appropriated aid.

The President is not above the law.”
Paul Gosar

Rep. Paul Gosar

Republican
Arizona’s 4th Congressional District
In office since Jan. 5, 2011
  • Leans against impeachment
12/12/19
“If Democrats have such a strong case, why do they need to misquote @realDonaldTrump's phone call? They're trying to trick the American people, don't fall for it!”
12/11/19
“It's never been about Russia or Ukraine. Democrats know they can't beat @realDonaldTrump at the ballot box.”
12/10/19
“Impeachment is backfiring on Democrats and they know it.”
12/9/19
“Democrats have no impeachment case, and the American people know it!”
12/6/19
“Democrats don’t have a case against @realDonaldTrump. You can’t impeach a president who has done nothing wrong!”
Andy Biggs

Rep. Andy Biggs

Republican
Arizona’s 5th Congressional District
In office since Jan. 3, 2017
  • Leans against impeachment
12/12/19
“President @realDonaldTrump wanted to ensure that the new President of Ukraine was committed to anti-corruption measures before he released the aid.

Once he was convinced, the aid was released.

He's getting impeached for being a good steward of taxpayer dollars.

Unbelievable.”
12/12/19
“The Democrats don’t have the law or the facts on their side, so they’ve acted in bad faith to manipulate the process for impeaching @POTUS @realDonaldTrump.

The President did nothing wrong. It’s the Democrats who have abused their powers.”
12/11/19
“Democrats in Congress - NOT @POTUS @realDonaldTrump - have committed the high crimes and misdemeanors of Abuse and Power and Obstruction of Congress that are laid on the table.

Thank you, @replouiegohmert, for speaking truth during this sad time in American history.”
12/11/19
“President Zelensky & other Ukrainian officials have repeatedly said that there was NO PRESSURE from @realDonaldTrump.

Democrats don't just ignore these statements.

They call the integrity of such statements into question.

Democrats will do anything to impeach the President.”
12/11/19
“Impeachment is a predetermined outcome among House Democrats.

They have the votes. They have the ability to force their partisan, vindictive sham upon America & U.S. history.

But history will reject this shameful effort to divide our nation & undermine the will of the people.”
12/10/19
“Every time Democrats attempt to close their impeachment case to the American people, facts fall out from under them.

This interview w/ Andriy Yermak is a huge blow to the substance of the Democrats' impeachment report.

The facts are w/ @realDonaldTrump.”
12/10/19
Democrats have proceeded to the brink of impeachment simply because they have been looking to do so for three years. This is the most partisan impeachment in our nation’s history. STATEMENT on today's introduction of Articles of Impeachment: (Link)
12/4/19
During the House Judiciary Committee hearing:
“What I’m suggesting to you today is a reckless bias coming in here, not fact witnesses,” Biggs said to the hearing witnesses, after reading out their past campaign donations and snippets of news stories in which they have been quoted about impeachment.

“You’re supposed to be talking about what the law is, but you came in with a preconceived notion and bias,” Biggs said.
Cronkite News
David Schweikert

Rep. David Schweikert

Republican
Arizona’s 6th Congressional District
In office since Jan. 5, 2011
  • Leans against impeachment
12/10/2019
“.@HouseDemocrats have squandered precious time to get work done for the American people by solely focusing on impeachment. We must swiftly pass the #USMCA to create thousands of jobs & focus on working together to lower the cost of prescription drugs.”
11/15/2019
“Congress is continuing to squander precious time. This week we have focused solely on impeachment, continuing to push off USMCA, continuing to push off how we incorporate innovative technology into our healthcare and energy policy, and continuing to push off how we address the financial burden we are leaving for our children.

I spoke on the House floor about how we should address these issues and my intense frustration with this body's lack of accountability for how we are going to keep our promises.”
10/31/2019
NAY vote on House of Representatives Resolution 660: “Directing certain committees to continue their ongoing investigations as part of the existing House of Representatives inquiry into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House of Representatives to exercise its Constitutional power to impeach Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America”.
Ruben Gallego

Rep. Ruben Gallego

Democrat
Arizona’s 7th Congressional District
In office since Jan. 6, 2015
  • Leans toward impeachment
12/5/19
“The facts & evidence the Judiciary Committee gathered made more clear than ever that Trump abused his power & committed multiple impeachable offenses. He left us no choice but to move ahead w/ articles of impeachment. It's our duty to uphold the Constitution & #DefendOurDemocracy”
11/21/19
“What did the President know and when did he know it? The answer is damning.”
11/20/19
“The case is clear: President Trump abused his power and extorted Ukraine by withholding military assistance in exchange for a commitment to interfere in the 2020 elections of the United States to his own political benefit. That is an impeachable offense.”
11/20/19
“Congressional Republicans still defending the President’s actions are desperately grasping at straws while living in an alternate universe where facts don’t matter.”
11/20/19
“President Trump has betrayed his oath of office and undermined U.S. national security. Congress has no choice but to impeach and remove him from office in order to defend the rule of law and preserve our democracy.”
9/24/19
“No president in the history of our country has ever been subject to as many credible allegations of illegal conduct as Donald Trump. #ImpeachTrump”
Debbie Lesko

Rep. Debbie Lesko

Republican
Arizona’s 8th Congressional District
In office since May 7, 2018
  • Leans against impeachment
12/13/19
“Today is a travesty for our country. This has been the most unfair, corrupt, politically biased railroad job I’ve seen in my entire life. Democrats are tearing our country apart with their sham impeachment, and they should be ashamed.”
12/12/19
“These are the ACTUAL FACTS:

- Transcript shows NO link between aid and investigations
- Aid was released WITHOUT any commitment to new investigations
- Ukraine didn’t know aid was withheld at the time of the July 25th call
- Trump & Zelensky both say there was zero pressure”
12/12/19
“It continues to amaze me how corrupt and unfair this entire process has been from the start.

This outcome has been predetermined since the day President @realdonaldtrump got elected.”
12/11/19
“No Collusion.
No Obstruction of Justice.
No Quid pro Quo.
No Bribery.
No Extortion.

Yet here we are, debating articles of impeachment because Democrats can't accept that President @realDonaldTrump won the 2016 election.”
12/10/19
“The only ones abusing power around here are the Democrats.”
12/5/19
“Dems have had their minds made up since the day Trump was elected. This has never been about the facts, which are still on the President’s side. This entire process has been biased and politically motivated, with no basic standards of due process. Pelosi & Dems must end this sham”
12/4/19
“This impeachment hearing has failed to meet the Chairman's own standards.

Nadler said there must be impeachable offenses. There's none.

Is it worth putting the country through the trauma of an impeachment? It's not.

Are opposition voters saying we have to do it? They're not.
Greg Stanton

Rep. Greg Stanton

Democrat
Arizona’s 9th Congressional District
In office since Jan. 3, 2019
  • Leans toward impeachment
12/11/19
“... This President must be impeached, and he must be removed. Not because he has been offensive, or because of policy disagreements. Impeachment is necessary because this President does not believe the law applies to him. . . because he poses a clear and present danger to our democracy. ...”
12/4/19
During the House Judiciary Committee hearing:

“The obstruction we’re looking at today is far worse than President Nixon’s behavior,” Stanton said. “Future generations will measure us, every single member of this committee by how we choose to answer that question. I hope we get it right.”
Cronkite News
Kyrsten Sinema

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema

Democrat
In office since Jan. 3, 2019
  • Unknown, has not publicly shared
Sinema has not commented publicly about the impeachment proceedings.
Martha McSally

Sen. Martha McSally

Republican
In office since Jan. 3, 2019
  • Unknown, has not publicly shared
McSally has not commented publicly about the impeachment proceedings.