[Barbara Jordan Scrapbook, July - September, 1974] Page: 33 of 236
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SATURDAY, JULY
i
Barbara Jordan
My Faith
In theIf fi
Constitution
Is Whole'
he Wington 4p00t"We, the people"-it is a very eloqu-
ent beginning. But when the Constitu-
tion of the United States was ,com-
pleted on the 17th of September in 1787,
I was not included in that "We, the peo-
ple." I felt for many years that some-
how George Washington and Alexan-
der Hamilton just left me out by mis-
take. But through the process of
amendment, interpretation and court
decision I have finally been included
in "We, the people."
Today I am an inquisitor. I believe
hyperbole would not be fictional and
would not overstate the solemness that
I feel right now. My faith in the Con-
stitution is whole, it is complete, it is
total. I am not going to sit here and
be an idle spectator to the diminu-
tion, the subversion, the destruction
of the Constitution.
"Who can so properly be the inquisi-
tors for the nation as the representa-
tives pf the nation themselves?" (The
Federalist Papers, No. 65). The subject
of its jurisdiction are those of-
fenses which proceed from the miscon-
duct of public men . . . In other words,
the jurisdiction comes from the abuse
or violation of some public trust. It is
wrong, I suggest, it is a misreading
of the Constitution for any member
here to assert that for a member to
vote for an Article of Impeachment
means that that member must be con-
vinced that the President should be
removed from office. The Constitution
doesn't say that. The powers relating
to impeachment are an essential check
in the hands of this body, the legisla-
ture, against and upon the encroach-
ment of the Executive. In establishing
the division between the two branches
of the legislature, the House and the
Senate, assigning to the one the right
to accuse and to the other the right to
judge-the framers of this Constitu-
tion were very astute. They did not
make the accusers and the jvagc; th w
same persons.
We know the nature of impeach-
ment. We have been talking about it
awhile now. "It is chiefly designed for
the President and his high ministers"
to somehow be called into account. It is
designed to "bridle" the Executive if
he engages in excesses. "It is designed
as a method of national "inquest into
the conduct of public men" (Federalist,
No. 65). The framers confined in the
Congress the power, if need be, to re-
move the President in order to strike a
delicate balance between a President
swollen with power and grown tyranni-
cal and preservation of the independ-
ence of the Executive. The nature of
impeachment is a narrowly channeled
exception to the separation of powersmaxim; the Federal Convention of 1787
said that. It limited impeachment to
"high crimes and misdemeanors" and
discounted and opposed the term,
"maladministration." "It is to be used
only for great midsdemeanors," so it
was said in the North Carolina ratifica-
tion convention. And in the Virginia
ratification convention: "We do not
trust liberty to a particular branch. We
need one branch to check the others."
"No one need be afraid" it was said
in the North Carolina Ratification
Convention; "No one need be afraid
Rep. Jordan, a Democrat, is the U.S.
Representative from Texas' 18th Dis-
trict. This article is excerpted from
her statement during the House Judi-
ciary Committee debate on impeach-
ment July 25.
that officers who commit oppression
will pass with immunity."
"Prosecutions of impeachments will
seldom fail to agitate the passions of
the whole community," said Hamilton
in the Federalist Papers No. 65, "and
to divide it into parties more or less
friendly or inimical to the accused." I
do not mean political parties in that
sense.
The drawing of political lines goes
to the motivation behind impeach-
ment; but impeachment must proceed
within the confines of the constitu-
tional term, "high crimes and mis-
demeanors."
Of the impeachment process, it was
Woodrow Wilson who said that "noth-
ing short of the grossest offenses
against the plain law of the land will
suffice to give them speed and effec-
tiveness. Indignation so great as to
overgrow party interest may secure a
Common sense would be revolted if
we engaged upon this process for petty
reasons. Congress has a lot to do: ap-
propriations, tax reform, health insur-
ance, campaign finance reform, hous-
ing, environmental protection, energy
sufficiency, mass transportation. Petti-
ness cannot be allowed to stand in the
face of such overwhelming problems.
So today we are not being petty. We
are trying to be big because the task
we have before us is a big one.
This morning, in a discussion of the
evidence, we were told that the evi-
dence which purports to support the
allegations of misuse of the CIA by the
President is thin. We are told that the
evidence is insufficient. What that re-
cital of the evidence this morning didnot include is what the President did
know on June 23, 1972. The President
did know that it was Republican
money, that it was money from th'
Committee for the Re-election of the
President, which was found in the pos-
session of one of the burglars arrested
on June 17.
What the President did know on the
23rd of June was the prior activities of
E. Howard Hunt, which included his
participation in the break-in of Daniel
Ellsberg's psychiatrist, which included
Howard Hunt's participation in the
Dita Beard ITT affair, which included
Howard Hunt's fabrication of cables
designed to discredit the Kennedy ad-
ministration.
We' were further cautioned today
that perhaps these proceedings ought
to be delayed because certainly there
would be new evidence forthcoming
from the President of the United
States. There has not even been an ob-
fuscated indication thatthisbcommittee
would receive any additional materials
from the President. The committee
subpoena is outstanding and if the
President wants to supply that matg-
rial, the committee sits here.
The fact is that on yesterday, the
American people waited with gret
anxiety for eight hours, not knowin
whether their President would obey ii
order of the Supreme Court of the
United States. -
At this point I would like to jixta-
pose a few of the impeachment criteria
with some of the President's actions.
James Madison said in the Virginia
Ratification Convention: "If the Presi-
dent be connected in any suspicious
manner with any person and there be
grounds to believe that he will shelter
him, he may be impeached."
We have heard time and time again
that the evidence reflects payment to
the defendants of money. The Presi-
;ci i ! t in) i 'SlursLU a i st
were being paid and that these were
funds collected for the 1972 presiden-
tial campaign.
We know that the President met
with (Assistant Attorney General)
Henry Petersen 27 times to discuss
matters related to Watergate and im-
mediately thereafter met with the very
persons who were implicated in the in-
formation Mr. Petersen was receiving,
and transmitting to the President.
Madison's words again: "If the Presi-
dent be connected in any suspicious
manner with any person and there be
grounds to believe that he will shelter
that person, he may be impeached."
Justice Story: "Impeachment is in-
tended for occasional and extraordi-
nary cases where a superior power act-
ing for the whole people is put into op-
eration to protect their rights and res-
cue their liberties from violation." ,
We know about the Huston plan. We
know about the break-in at the psy-
chiatrist's office. We know that there
was absolute complete direction in Au-
gust 1971 when the President instructed
Ehrlichman to "do whatever is neces&
sary." This instruction led to a sur-
reptitious entry into Dr. Fielding's of-
fice....
The South Carolina Ratification Con-
vention impeachment criteria: Those
are impeachable "who behave amiss or
betray their public trust."
Beginning shortly after the Water-
gate break-in and continuing to the
present time the President has en-
gaged in a series of public statements
and actions designed to thwart the
lawful investigation by government
prosecutors. Moreover, the President
has made public announcements and
assertions bearing on the Watergate
case which the evidence will show ie
knew to be false....
James Madison said, again at tIe
Constitutional Convention: "A Presi-
dent is impeachable if he attempts to
subvert the Constitution."
The Constitution charges the Presi-
dent with the task of taking care that
the laws be faithfully executed, an
yet the President has counselled his
aides to commit perjury, willfully dis-
regarded the secrecy of grand jury
proceedings, concealed surreptitious
entry, attempted to compromise a fe-t
eral judge while publicly displaying
his cooperation with the processes 'of
criminal justice. . .
If the impeachment provision in the
Constitution of the United States will
not reach the offenses charged herethen perhaps that 18th century Consti-
tution should be abandoned to a 20th
century paper shredder. Has the Presi-
dent committed offenses and planned
and directed and acquiesced in 'a
course of conduct which the Constitu-
tion Will not tolerate? That is the ques-
tion. We know that. We know the ques-
tion. We should now forthwith proceed
to answer the question. It is reason
and not passion which must guide our
deliberations, guide our debate, and
guide our decision.27, 1974
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[Barbara Jordan Scrapbook, July - September, 1974], book, 1974; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth616583/m1/33/: accessed February 14, 2025), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas Southern University.