Rep. Johnson Statement for Hearing to Receive Counsel Presentations of Evidence in the Impeachment Inquiry of Donald J. Trump

Congressman establishes overwhelming affirmative evidence that President Trump directed Giuliani's actions

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman Hank Johnson (GA-04), a senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, asked the following questions during the hearing on "The Impeachment Inquiry into President Donald J. Trump: Presentations from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and House Judiciary Committee." His exchange is with the Intelligence Committee Majority Counsel Daniel Goldman:

Watch here: https://youtu.be/F2HNcT1IFQ0

Rep. Johnson: Thank you Mr. Chairman. I'd like to get us back to the undisputed facts of the president's abuse of power. Mr. Goldman, as a prosecutor in the Southern District of New York when you prosecuted drug conspiracy cases, was it standard practice for drug kingpins to try to beat the case by distancing themselves from the conspiracy and blaming their accomplices for the crime?

Mr. Goldman: All the time. Conspiracies have different layers and the top layers make the bottom layers do the work so that they're further removed from the actual conduct.

Rep. Johnson: OK. I'd like to ask some questions about the president's role in what Ambassador Bolton referred to as a "drug deal." Did the testimony and evidence compiled by the Intelligence Committee establish the fact that with respect to Ukraine, Rudy Giuliani was at all times working on behalf of President Trump?

Mr. Goldman: Yes, Mr. Giuliani said that. President Trump said that to a number of other individuals, and then those individuals, Ambassador Sondland, Ambassador Volker also said that.

Rep. Johnson: Thank you. May 9th, 2019, Rudy Giuliani on behalf of his client, President Trump, spoke with a New York Times reporter about his planned trip to Ukraine and on that trip he planned to meet with President Zelensky, he said, and urged -- and urged him to pursue investigations relating to the Bidens and to the debunked theory that Ukraine, and not Russia, interfered in the 2016 election. Isn't that correct?

Mr. Goldman: That's right.

Rep. Johnson: Mr. Giuliani told the reporter that his trip was not about official U.S. foreign policy and that the information he sought would be very, very helpful to his client -- meaning it would be helpful to President Trump. Is that correct?

Mr. Goldman: Yes, if it's not official foreign policy, it would be helpful to President Trump's personal interests.

Rep. Johnson: There's no doubt investigations of the Bidens and 2016 election meddling were, in fact, not about U.S. policy but about benefiting Trump's re-election. correct? [NYTimes, 5/9/19]

Mr. Goldman: Yes, even the Ukrainians realized that.

Rep. Johnson: On July 25th, President Trump placed that fateful phone call to President Zelensky, and he asked Zelensky to investigate the Bidens. Correct?

Mr. Goldman: Yes

Rep. Johnson: And on that call, President Trump told Zelensky: "I will have Mr. Giuliani to give you a call," correct?

Mr. Goldman: That's right.

Rep. Johnson: And on October 2 and October 3, President Trump once again made explicit that he and Mr. Giuliani were intent on making these investigations happen, correct?

Mr. Goldman: Yes.

[VIDEO CLIPS OF PRESIDENT]: October 2: "And just so you know, we've been investigating, on a personal basis — through Rudy and others, lawyers — corruption in the 2016 election. October 3: "Well, I would think that, if they were honest about it, they'd start a major investigation into the Bidens. It's a very simple answer."]

Rep. Johnson: Mr. Goldman, the evidence shows the course of conduct by President Trump and his agents, does it not?

Mr. Goldman: It does, and clearly, it continued long after our investigation began.

Rep. Johnson: And it shows a common plan? And it shows a common goal? And that goal was to get foreign help for the 2020 election?

Mr. Goldman: That is -- that's what all the witnesses said.

Rep. Johnson: And Mr. Goldman, who was the kingpin of this plan?

Mr. Goldman: President Trump.

Rep. Johnson Thank you, Mr. Goldman. Ambassador Bolton called it a drug deal. As a kingpin, President Trump tried to force a foreign government to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. The evidence is undisputed and overwhelming that Rudy Giuliani acted as part of a conspiracy with President Trump to obtain Ukrainian help for President Trump in the 2020 election. This was not just a hurtful drug deal. This was an attempt to undermine the very fabric of our democracy. The framers feared most how foreign influence could turn a president into a despot. So, they adopted impeachment as a backstop to protect our democracy. The facts, ladies and gentlemen, demand that we use that remedy today, and with that, I yield back.

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