Hudson Sends Letter to Speaker Pelosi

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Richard Hudson (NC-08) sent Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter expressing his concerns with the partisan nature of House Democrats’ impeachment process and the secrecy in which it has been conducted.

The text of the letter is below.

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi

Speaker of the House

U.S. House of Representatives

H-232, U.S. Capitol Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Speaker Pelosi,

I write to you today regarding two issues I have serious concern with—the partisan nature of this impeachment process and the secrecy in which it has been conducted. I am concerned that continuing this process will further undermine our democratic institutions.

Our Founding Fathers warned of the impeachment process being abused for partisan purposes. In the Federalist Papers No. 65, Alexander Hamilton warned “there will always be the greatest danger that the decision will be regulated more by the comparative strength of parties, than by the real demonstration of innocence or guilt.” Last week when the House of Representatives voted on the impeachment resolution, H.Res. 660, there was only partisan support for it to move forward, while opposition was bipartisan. Despite the clear message sent by this vote, the majority party continues to push forward with this political farce.

Further, while we were told H.Res. 660 would bring some sort of transparency and legitimacy to this impeachment investigation, secret hearings continued this week. I understand the need to protect sensitive or classified information for certain pieces of testimony, but we must allow the American people to observe as much of these proceedings as possible. In addition, House Rule XI, 2 (e)(2)(A) clearly states that in the event of classified or sensitive information being redacted from testimony, Members of Congress shall receive the full uncensored transcripts. To my knowledge, uncensored transcripts are still not available for all Members of Congress.

Please heed the warning of our Founding Fathers. Do not bend the rules for partisan gain and political theatrics, and instead bring this process out in the open so the American people we were all elected to represent can judge for themselves.

Sincerely,

Richard Hudson

Member of Congress