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INSIDE POLITICS

Soon: House Votes On Impeachment Managers, Transmitting Articles; Donald Trump To Sign Phase One China Trade Deal; Donald Trump Signing China Trade Deal As House Prepares To Vote On Sending Impeachment Articles To Senate; House Debates The Impeachment Managers Resolutions. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired January 15, 2020 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[12:00:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: --went out into the beautiful lawns of the White House. Actually he was standing in the middle of the Rose Garden. He had a beautiful scarf waving in the wind. He was everything perfect, great as a - and he started talking.

And by the time we finished, I said you just made a trillion dollars, a trillion because the market went up like 250 points. I said Larry, what the hell did you say? And it didn't matter, but we were even. We went from being a trillion down to even and that was pretty good. Larry, you've been fantastic, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And by the way, I just seeing the audience our great ambassador to China, right, Governor. So we had the Governor of Iowa, and he loves China. And he is longest serving Governor in the history of our country, like 24 years. And I called him, I said, Governor, you have to do me a favor.

Because I remember one conversation I had with him. I was going in to make a speech before the election. He said, sir, please don't say anything bad about China. It's the first time anyone ever said that to me. And I said who is this guy? He's the Governor of Iowa. He just said don't say bad about China, so I had to rip up about half of my speech, right?

I said, why? We do a lot of business. I've been dealing with China for 35 years with corn and all of the different things. He told me a story that was amazing. He said, you know, 35 years ago when I started, I met a man named Xi. He wasn't President then, he was a young man. And the Governor came back and he told his wife, he said, this is 35 years ago, and it's documented.

He said I just met the future President of China. And nobody thought much about it. You know what, 28 years later you turned out to be right. You have been an incredible Ambassador and they like each other so much. So when it came time to picking the important position of Ambassador, I said, haven't you had enough after 24 years being Governor of Iowa?

He said, if you want me to do that, and it's been a great - you've been a great help, thank you very much, Ambassador, I appreciate it. Done a great job.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Nobody could have done that job better. A man, I think I can go on the opposite side of the spectrum perhaps from the Governor, his attitude is a little different, our traded adviser, Peter Navarro, right, Peter? He's a little different. We have all types. A Deputy Chief of Staff, Chris Liddell has been with us for a long time and he's done a fantastic job, had a great business career, Commerce Secretary, legend on Wall Street, Wilbur Ross, where's Wilbur?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Wilbur, thank you. A man who knows agricultural as well as anybody in the world, we were looking for an agricultural person and we wanted to go political, and we were looking for somebody that would fit perfectly and he suddenly came in and it was over. I learned more in that half hour about agricultural, than I joined him right?

Then I could have ever learned possibly. Sonny Perdue has been incredible and we're taking care of our farmers. That I can tell you so Sonny, thank you very much. Great job, thank you, Sonny.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And a woman, transportation is going very well she's done an incredible job. We're getting approvals down now from 20 years, 21 years to 2 years. It may get rejected for environmental or other reasons, but we have it. Lindsey down to about 2 years, a highway which would have taken 19 to 20 years to get approval and we have it down to 2 and we wanted to get it down to 1.

And if doesn't work within and say you know build it but you're not going to wait 22 years to find out you can't build a highway. She has been fantastic, Secretary of Transportation, Elaine Chow. Thank you, Elaine.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: So, we have tremendous numbers of people here, and I'm saying do I introduce them? But I think I sort of should because this is a big celebration. And by the way some of the Congressman may have a vote it's on the impeachment hoax. So if you want, you can go out and vote. I'd rather have - it's not going to matter because it's going very well.

But I'd rather have you voting than sitting here listening to me introduce you. They have a hoax going on over there, let's take care of it. If any of you guys want to leave we will not be with Kevin McCarthy, the great Kevin McCarthy. Okay, good.

Can I be honest? I'm glad. I like it much better that way. The House folks, 195-0, and we have three Democrats, and one of them actually left the Democratic Party, came over Republican. What a job you've done. So I just want to thank you all really tough. I love that.

So we have some incredible people in the audience. I'd just like to introduce a few, very good friend of mine, two very good friends of mine, Sheldon Adelson, Miriam Adelson thank you very much both for coming. They've been tremendous supporters of us, and the Republican Party.

[12:05:00]

TRUMP: And are great people, a man who always liked me because he's smart, so smart, the great Lou Dobbs. You know, at first he said, he's the best since Reagan. Then, he got to know me more and more and he said he's even better than Reagan. Then, a few weeks ago, somebody told me, I watch all the time, somebody has got a very important show actually, tremendous audience and everybody in this room watches, but Lou Dobbs, he said, he's the greatest of them all.

I said does that include Washington and Lincoln? And he said, yes. Now, I don't know if he was for real, but that's okay, but the great he is, the great Lou Dobbs. Thank you very much. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Great show, Lou. And a man who everybody knows, he knows more than probably everybody in this room put together, he's seen it all. He made a statement to Jarred. Jarred came in and said you know, Henry Kissinger told me, how did the President ever pull this off? I said can I quote Henry on that? Henry is outstanding. When Henry is impressed with something, that I'm impressed and Henry, we're impressed with you, thank you very much for being here. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And Michael Pillsbury, thank you very much and Susan Pillsbury, thank you very much. You've been saying some fantastic things about China and about us. We have a good partnership. This is going to be something that is going to be very special.

We're going to talk about it in a second. A friend of mine, Steve Shoresman is here. Steve, I know you have no interest in this deal at all I'm surprised you're not actually sitting over here on the ledge of the stage. But Steve has done a good job and good relationship with China and very good relationship with us.

Nelson, is here a friend of mine where is Nelson? Nelson is around here some place hi Nelson. What are you doing sitting all the way back there, Nelson? How's general electric doing? He'll straighten it out. He came in nice and late. He didn't get in too early that's what is here. Hank Greenberg is here. Hank, if they took care of Hank they wouldn't have had the problems that they had. Where's Hank? Hank Greenberg.

(APPLAUSE) TRUMP: Hank. Hank stayed there like he should have you wouldn't have

had the problem that you ended up having with our economy. Great to have you, Hank thank you very much. We have tremendous Senators here and some really incredible people. I want to just say the ones that here, if I miss your name, stand up and I will promise to say it. A lot of people wanted to be here.

A Senator who has been new to the game, and he took it up so quickly and so easily. He ran a race that was undoable. The person he ran against was unbeatable. Nice woman, Heidi, but unbeatable. And then Kevin Cramer said, I can beat her and I think you only won by about 12 points, right?

They said he's the only man in North Dakota that can win. I said, go do it. I had him in my office three times and I said Kevin you got to do it. And I said he is doing it and he turned me down. Then he came back again while this time I know he is doing it, he calls me back, sir not going to do it. In all fairness, I will call you back. But I never give up, do I? So now instead of being a Congressman, he's a Senator and you've been great and thank you very much, Kevin Cramer.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Mike Crapo a friend of mine, these are all warriors, these are incredible - Mike, thank you very much, Mike, what a job you do? Mike is one of those guys who goes unsung but be behind the scenes, there is nobody sharper and smarter, and we all respect you and love you, every one of these people. Thank you very much Mike, I appreciate it.

Steve, same thing I can say for my friend, Steve, and he has got a hell of a football team. How did they do this year, all right? They're going to be back? They won it again? They have a good team. Joni Ernst you got ethanol, so you can't be complaining, right? Steve, that's good for you, too.

Joni would call me along with Chuck Grassley they call us at tandem you can't beat the two of them. All they want to know about is ethanol. But we've got it done. Deb Fischer, same boat, right, Deb? You want that ethanol from Nebraska? And a friend of mine, Lindsey Graham he has become a friend of mine, and he is an outstanding man, he loves our country he really does love our country.

He works like - and do you do anything other than politics? He likes golf, too, much better golfer than people would understand. He likes golf, but he is a great guy. You get it done, he brings people together. Chuck Grassley. Where's Chuck? Will you stand up for a second?

[12:10:00]

TRUMP: This guy is the toughest guy. He can say something in a nice manner and everybody is afraid, right? He may call me choke during the hearing. He said, did you leak anything to the press? What? What? What? Call me choke like a dog and he was being nice when he said it.

Chuck is outstanding. Unbeatable, between you and the Governor, those are two pretty good ones, right? Unbeatable under any circumstance, he makes the rounds like virtually every night. I think you still have never missed a vote. Have you ever missed a vote?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Since 1993.

TRUMP: '93? He was in my office a month ago and I thought it was very rude. Sir, I'm sorry, I have to leave. Why? We're right in the middle of a meeting. I said, why? He said, because I have to vote and I've never missed a vote or something. I said, how many years? He said 1993 it is a long time.

I said you know, go leave that's a good record to keep because he's a solid reliable, unbelievable person and he is a friend of mine. Thank you very much, Chuck. Let them know also about that ethanol, Chuck. We brought home the ethanol, and when you have those two garland they were not nice about it Jerry. I wanted to tell you, where is Jerry? Jerry, they were not nice about the ethanol, I want to say that.

And Jerry with what he did - we're working together very closely together with the vets. It's incredible what's happened with what we approved on choice. It has made a whole big difference. You don't hear complaints about the V.A. anymore, do you notice? They go out, see a doctor. If they have to wait two months or if they have to wait two days, they go out and see a doctor. Jerry Moran, folks, he did a fantastic job.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Rob Portman, great friend of ours from Ohio. Rob, fantastic job I just left Ohio. They love you. They love you there and you've done a fantastic job and you are my friend. Rob Portman.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: Thanks, Rob. Pat Roberts, a man from Kansas, who's going to be leaving us. I cannot believe that you're not running again. You have at least another 12 good solid years in the Senate if you wanted them. You have to do it? You're sure, right? Okay. He's made that decision. Pat, thank you very much.

This is very important to Pat and to Mike Rounds because what's happened here, if you look, it's so much about everything you stand for, especially the farmers. The farmers are going to be so happy. Where is Mike Rounds? Mike, stand up, Mike. He's another one. He was brutal to me; he would call like I had to get this done. How to get it done, right? Thank you very much, Mike fantastic job.

Dan Sullivan from the great state of Alaska and I stop there every time I can. I won by a lot. They like me in Alaska, right?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, INSIDE POLITICS: I'm John King in Washington. We're not going to break away from the President but we do want to show what's happening in Capitol Hill as well. The House is now in session. They are preparing to debate a resolution that would officially name the House Impeachment Managers and officially transmit the two articles of impeachment across the Capitol from the House to the Senate.

The team of seven impeachment managers named by Speaker Pelosi this morning but the full House must vote to approve that resolution. So I want to let our viewers know. We'll go back to the signing ceremony at the White House, the President signing the so called Phase One Trade Agreement with the Chinese. Right now he is thanking a number of dignitaries in the room but we will keep our eye on Capitol Hill as well and go back there when they get to the key moments.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: North Carolina, she is fantastic. Vern thank you very much, great job you've done. Mike Conaway, thanks, Mike. Thank you Mike by the way, Christie, thank you for being here. I didn't know you would be here. Stand up. We're going to do a big fireworks display, right, Mt. Rushmore? We're going over I think I'm going to try and be there in July 4th.

So the Governor called. She ran a great race, a tough race. That was a tough competitor you had, a big star but she was the bigger star it turns out, Lindsay. She said, do you think we can get fireworks back at Mt. Rushmore? I said why? They haven't been there for 20 years. They said why? Environmental reasons I said, you mean you can't have fireworks because of the environment?

Yes, environmental reasons, I said what can burn? It's stone. Nobody knew why. They just said environmental reasons, so I called up our people and within about 15 minutes we got it approved and you're going to have your first big fireworks display at Mt. Rushmore, and I will try and get out there if I can, right?

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: That will be great. Thank you very much for being here. Thanks Christie. Mike Kelley, thank you very much. What a friend. Drew Ferguson, what a friend. These are great people. I'm telling you, Darren Lahood, thank you very much, Darren, great job.

[12:15:00]

TRUMP: Michael McCaul you did phenomenal job three or four days ago Mike with your speech on the floor, that was incredible very inspiring. Patrick McHenry, he is number one he is a great guy and number two he has got the best name in politics. If I had had that name I would have won 20 years ago.

Patrick McHenry, a man who has such courage, honestly he deserves a medal. He will probably get one. We still have to win to get medals, right? We can't get medals if we don't win. This guy has never lost in his life. He is so tough and so smart. Devin Nunes, stand up. Everybody knows him. What they put him through, what these phony people, what these dirty cops and all of the others put you through, man, you survived it better than ever and everyone respects you, and even Meadows respects you and he respects very few people. So thank you Devin, great job.

Adrian Smith, thank you Adrian, thank you very much. Don't feel, again you guys are all said, I've introduced you, not much more for you, but you know but you're going to hear some great things about China and you are going to hear some also great things now because we have a who's who of the world of business with us today.

David Abney of U.P.S. David, where are you, David? You can stand up. Anybody wants to. If your company is not doing well you may not want to stand up. U.P.S. is doing very well. There will be a couple that will sort of shrink back into their chair and pretend they're not here. Thank you, David, great job you have done.

Darius Adam of Honeywell great company thank you very much. Great equipment you make, I have a lot of it and use a lot of it and the country uses a lot of it.

A.J.A.Y. Banga, Mastercard. Thank you A.J.A.Y. a fantastic job. Josh Bolton, Business Round Table, thank you, Josh great job. David Calhoun he has got a very easy company to run. He just took over Boeing. Where's David? Where's David? Stand up, David. See, he didn't want to stand. It's not your fault. You just got there. You'll straighten it out quickly, please?

Okay, I have no doubt. It is a great company. Les Daniels USTRACTPN. Okay. We've been fighting the steel things for 20 years together, Dan, I'd like to say 30 but I don't want to do that, right? We've been fighting together a lot longer than 20 years and - now, we're winning.

Finally it took 25, 30 years. Took a little change at the top, didn't it? But you've been a warrior for getting really taken advantage of as a country and you've been a warrior, I appreciate it right from the beginning. Dan and I, it was the fight of two people against the world.

Tom Donohue, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and that's - where's Tom? Thank you Tom great job. Brian Duperreault of AIG you know that company? Hank?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KING: All right, if you're listening to the President he is in the White House. He is celebrating. They're about to sign so-called Phase One of the Trade Deal with China. You see the Chinese delegation over the President's right shoulder to left of your screen. The President has been speaking for quite a bit of time introducing going around referencing members of Congress, members of his cabinet administration, now corporate executives in the room, he is clearly in a good mood and views this as a big achievement.

It could well be. But I want to bring in our Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans. As we listen to the President Christine, forgive me if I have to interrupt, we will go back when they get to the substance of the signing. But this is a big deal and yet it is only phase one. We need to see the print. The White House has told us this does a number of great things for the American economy for American farmers for example but we have not actually seen the text yet?

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: The text has been secret, and part of the reason is because they didn't want pieces of it to leak into the Chinese media and look like the U.S. was getting one over on the Chinese. They wanted this to really look fair here.

Look, this is something the President said he would never do John, he said he wouldn't take just one little piece with some you know promises of commitments on buying U.S. farm goods and other products and call that a win. He wanted a big course correction. That is not what this is. That it has been re-branded as a promise kept for the election year, no question.

The farm goods will be very, very important to watch here because the Chinese, according to what we're hearing and fact sheets we're getting from the U.S. Trade Representative, they're promising to buy more farm goods. When you even it all out, what they're promising the buys only over the next two years, and basically net, net, it's flat.

It is essentially as if they're buying back what they didn't buy during the trade war. So I'm not sure how big of a win that is going to be. There are some inroads for U.S. financial services that is great for Wall Street that is great for the globalist wing of the President sort of trade contingent there.

But some of the China hawks must be pretty disappointed here. The U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said this is a massively good first step. He said are we in an ideal spot? No.

[12:20:00]

KING: No and we will watch how this plays out, Christine. Stand by with us as we do this, as again as we're watching the President. He is going around the room. Let's have a conversation about this very important moment in Washington. With me in studio to share their reporting and their insights Carl Hulse with "The New York Times" CNN's Dana Bash as well as CNN's Nia-Malika Henderson Jeff Zeleny and the Senate Parliamentarian Emeritus Alan Furman.

Alan is with us because we're also watching as we watch the President in the White House we're also watching a very important debate maybe we can show our viewers starting in the beginning in the early stages on the floor of the House of Representatives.

One of the reasons the President has been talking for more than 30 minutes. One of the reasons the President is in a mood to celebrate, is he is trying to counter the programming you see right there. The House today will officially pass a resolution naming seven House Managers, all Democrats, of course and they will transmit the articles of impeachment over to the Senate tonight.

And so you have a momentous step the first page if you will in the next chapter of the Trump impeachment debate. And the President trying to do very much like Bill Clinton did back when he was being impeached, focus on the economy, and say I'm trying to do my job and even in the opening remarks from the President saying to the House member in there, I know you may have to leave because there is a vote on what he calls a hoax.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: You can almost hear the sigh of relief from across the river in Virginia where the Trump campaign headquarters is, finally, he is taking time to talk about things that we believe will really help him in his reelection campaign, something that he campaigned on, in a really aggressive way.

This is one of the things that he has genuinely cared about for years and years and years back when he was a businessman focusing on trade imbalance with China. And so that is obviously what's driving this. And just the basic, that this is a win for him. He is crowing as much as he can. But exactly, as you said, the motion of him understanding how to counter programs, we have to underscore that, highlight and circle it. That's what's happening.

KING: That is what's happening and as the President does signs this accomplishment today, again we're going to have some skepticism, not that it's not an important first step it is certainly a word say tumultuous continuing trade war in the election year. It is not as Christine Romans noted what the President promised.

He originally said he was all in, he needed a big deal, he wanted a no deal. But some would say, he blinked others would say, he took a reasonable approach, get something and go back to the bargaining table, don't disrupt both economies. But he has other decisions to make as well because as watch the President in this setting, he watches this morning, he was on Twitter this morning when Nancy Pelosi was naming the seven House Managers. He has a very big decision to make. He has to name his legal team.

And we know the White House Counsel Pat Cipollone will lead it. We know that President's long time personal attorney Jay Sekulow will be a lead member of it. But now, he knows the seven House Democrats, who job umber one, is to persuade a handful of Republican Senators, and by in doing so, meaning persuade the American people to put pressure on these Republican Senators to allow for witnesses.

And so the President - any President, always it is a complicated job, but here he is trying to have an achievement but he has to get to pretty soon about it a very important business for his own not political survival, we don't see the Senate votes changing but he has a big decision to make.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: No question and I think one other thing are we going to see Rudy Giuliani on the Senate floor, I think probably not. I mean that would be an extraordinary unimaginable thing. But we should caveat all this conversation of the next few weeks with who knows.

We likely know the outcome at the end we do not know what's happening between now and then? So will there be witnesses we don't know? But the President we do know is consumed by this despite the fact that he's introducing virtually everyone today, he truly is trying to counter this. But there is a very serious matter going on here and all Senate Republicans are sort of bracing for it and some are very uncomfortable about what it means for them politically. KING: Make no mistake about it, whatever you think of the President.

He gets politics and he gets messaging and he is trying to look, well, he is trying to look gracious. He is being very magnanimous to his cabinet and to those other people in the room. He wants the American people to look at this and say, why are we impeaching this guy? That is what he is trying to do.

And again, Bill Clinton followed that strategy constantly. But the Speaker tried to get under his skin today and she is very good at it, by beginning her remarks and ending her remarks. By saying no matter what happens in the Senate, this President will forever - she used the word forever repeatedly be impeached.

CARL HULSE, CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: yes, she wants to drive that point home that no matter what happens over there, you've been impeached. The President today, you know he's going to get another trade win this week with past he did the USMCA. So that's a good thing for him and he is trying to build on that.

Opposed to Clinton who really ignored it, he did work in a couple of comments today where it is a hoax and you know you got to go over and we need you over there to vote on the hoax. But I thought the impeachment managers that were rolled out by the Democrats, very interesting tab blow, very diverse people picked for their parts of the country and their experience, very different from the impeachment managers during the Clinton trial that the Republicans sent over.

[12:25:00]

HULSE: So I think the Senate is bracing for this, it is kind of a tale of two chambers going on right now there because in the House, they want to make as much of this today as they can and of course the Senate is trying, Mitch McConnell trying to minimize it as much as he can. So there is a little clash going on between the two, it is like when they're going to bring over the articles of impeachment it seems like about when you get halfway across the rotunda, there is going to be a different vibe.

KING: And the complexity and the unpredictability of the moment is something that cannot be overstated. And I think Jeff you made on the uncertainty in the sense that you have a President - Carl is right - he is about to sign phase one with China. I won't look at the details but it is a significant accomplishment for the President.

The Senate will pass the U.S./Mexico/Canada Trade Agreement within the next several days perhaps even this week. He has record low unemployment, there was just a jobs report last that showed the U.S. economy continues now on its 11th year of expansion as the President has reelection and yet early in this election year. The Senate is going to have an impeachment trial as we bump up against State of the Union and the beginning of the official voting in Iowa Caucuses. The enormities of the moment and the collisions of these events is remarkable.

NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: And he obviously wants to continue with sort of programming it, right? Early on the he felt like he wanted kind of a show trial in the Senate, asking for witnesses, and we will see. I don't think they're going to be the witnesses that he necessarily wants, people like Joe Biden and people like Hunter Biden. That's the big debate now and you saw so far that some of that kind of swing state moderate Senators seem to be open to the idea of having folks testify, so we will see where that goes. The uncertainty is the big thing.

KING: And some of those Senators who have to cast those votes sitting there. The President now is getting into the details of what he views as the accomplishments here in this trade agreement. Let's listen.

TRUMP: The military also important. But that's probably the biggest reason. In June of 2016 in the great State of Pennsylvania, I promised that I would use every lawful presidential power to protect Americans from unfair trade and unfair trade practices. Unlike those who came before me I kept my promise. They didn't promise too hard but they didn't do anything.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And I actually think I more than kept my promise now our efforts have yielded a transformative deal that will bring tremendous benefits to both countries. We have a great relationship with China and we have a great relationship with the leadership of China. China fully understands that there has to be certain reciprocity there has to be.

It cannot continue like this. It would be dangerous for it to continue like it was. The agreement we sign today includes ground breaking provisions in an area of critical importance to the United States protecting intellectual property. So the deal you're seeing today is a much bigger deal than we have it very much guarded.

KING: I want to take you from the White House to the floor of the House of Representatives, the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee Jerry Nadler, one of the impeachment managers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Lofgren, Mr. Jeffries, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Crow and Miss. Garcia of Texas are appointed managers to conduct the impeachment trial against Donald John Trump President of the United States. That a message be sent to the Senate to inform the Senate of these appointments and that the manager so appointed me in connection with the preparation and conduct of the trial exhibit the articles of impeachment to the Senate and take all other actions necessary, which may include the following.

One, employing legal, clerical and other necessary assistance and incurring such other expenses as may be necessary to be paid from amounts available to the committee on the judiciary under the applicable expense resolutions or from the applicable accounts of the House of Representatives.

Two, sending for persons and papers and filing with the Secretary of the Senate on the part of the House of Representatives any pleadings in conjunction with or subsequent to the exhibition of the articles of impeachment that the managers consider necessary.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pursuant to House Resolution 767, the resolution is debatable for 10 minutes equally divided it controlled by the Chair and Ranking Minority Member of the Committee on the Judiciary.

The gentleman from New York, Mr. Nadler and the gentleman from Georgia, Mr. Collins each will control five minutes. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from New York.

REP. JERRY NADLER, (D-NY): Madam Speaker, I now yield myself two minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gentleman is recognized for two minutes.

NADLER: Madam Speaker, the resolution before today appoints managers to prosecute the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump. This trial is necessary because President Trump gravely abused the power of his office when he strong armed foreign government to announce investigations into his domestic political rival.

He betrayed our country when he used the powers--

[12:30:00]