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Congressional Delegation From Kansas Comments On Impeachment Inquiry

White House

Editor's note: This story was updated on Oct. 2 to include comments from Sen. Jerry Moran. 

The state’s four congressional representatives and Sen. Jerry Moran have weighed in after this week’s announcement from Speaker Nancy Pelosi that the House of Representatives will move forward with an impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump.

Pelosi’s announcement on Tuesday follows reports that Trump asked the president of Ukraine to investigate whether Joe Biden — the former vice president who is running for the Democratic nomination for president — stymied a Ukraine investigation of his son, Hunter Biden.

Moran, a Republican, joined Republican Reps. Ron Estes of Wichita, Roger Marshall of Great Bend and Steve Watkins of Topeka in denouncing the inquiry.

Sharice Davids of Kansas City, a Democrat, supported the move.

Sen. Pat Roberts, a Republican, has not commented on the impeachment inquiry.

Here are the statements or tweets from the Kansas delegation:

Ron Estes statement

“Even before seeing a transcript, Speaker Pelosi has decided to surrender to the most radical voices in her party by moving forward with an impeachment inquiry over reports of a phone call between President Trump and the leader of Ukraine.

“While the president has vowed to release a full transcript, which I look forward to reviewing, I believe starting an impeachment inquiry today is irresponsible and will only succeed in further dividing the American people.

“Since the day after the 2016 election, Democrats have vowed to impeach President Trump and have since spent more than two years searching for a reason to do it. Instead of impeachment, Congress should focus on priorities like the USMCA and accomplishing results for the American people.”

Roger Marshall on Twitter

“Democrats will stop at nothing to impeach our President. If only they devoted the last three years and energy to helping make American’s lives’ better…”

“Read the transcript. Once again, the left wing witch hunt fired before aiming.”

“Russia was the first attempt at a made-for-TV witch hunt. Ukraine seems to be the sequel.”

“Oversight committees need to do their job. And during the circus, some of us will still focus on helping the American people through expanded trade and security. Hope more will join.”

Steve Watkins on Twitter

“Impeachment is designed for high crimes and misdemeanors, not unconfirmed, secondhand accusations. This is nothing more than Democrats waving the white flag on 2020 and trying to impeach a President they know they can’t beat.”

“Democrats have been on a three-year witch-hunt to sabotage and delegitimize a democratically elected President whose success makes them irate and irrational.”

Sharice Davids statement

“When I was sworn into office, I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States and I take that responsibility very seriously.

“The reports that the President asked Ukrainian officials to help him investigate a political opponent, if true, represent a clear abuse of power and mean he invited foreign interference into our democracy for his own political gain.

“Not only that, the President and his administration continue to stonewall investigations into this and many other allegations. This continued pattern of corruption threatens the fabric of our democracy and the safety of the American people.

“No one is above the law, not even the President. Our country has laws to protect whistleblowers and to protect the security of our elections, both of which are fundamental to our democracy. "On Thursday, the Acting Director of National Intelligence Joseph Maguire will testify before the House Intelligence Committee. The rule of law requires the Administration to turn over the whistleblower report. The Administration should also turn over the transcript of the call between the President and the Ukrainian government, so the American people have all the facts.

“If the Acting Director or any member of this Administration does not comply, they must be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

Jerry Moran statement

"Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced impeachment proceedings for President Trump. Speaker Pelosi’s actions are a rush to judgement and were made before most of the facts were known. Absent concrete evidence of high crimes and misdemeanors, Congress should not use impeachment proceedings to overturn the results of an election.

"Since President Trump’s election, Democrats have been trying to delegitimize his presidency, and unfounded impeachment of President Trump would only further fracture our already divided country."

Tom Shine is director of news and public affairs at KMUW.

Tom joined KMUW in 2017 after spending 37 years with The Wichita Eagle where he held a variety of reporting and editing roles. He also is host of The Range, KMUW’s weekly show about where we live and the people who live here. Tom is an adjunct instructor in the Elliott School of Communication at Wichita State University.