Rep. Peter Welch Credit: File: Paul Heintz

Barring the appearance of unexpected information, U.S. Rep. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said Friday that he is prepared to vote to impeach President Donald Trump at the conclusion of the House’s ongoing inquiry.

“The evidence I’ve seen is a clear breach of the oath of office and an abuse of the public trust in pursuit of a private advantage,” Welch told Seven Days, adding that he would “reserve final judgement until all the information is in.”

As a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Welch spent the previous two weeks hearing testimony from civil servants who described the president’s efforts to secure a Ukrainian government investigation of a political rival, former vice president Joe Biden.

Welch said he had been struck by two things during the hearings. “One is how little the president cared about the real issues in Ukraine,” he said. “He only cared about getting the investigations.”

Welch’s second observation was how dedicated the witnesses were to doing the right thing. “They are so inspiring. They’re professional. They are committed to doing their duty. They don’t seek the limelight but are extraordinarily professional and competent, and they’re very brave in a matter-of-fact way,” he said. “They are regularly trashed by President Trump, but my goodness they were extraordinary.”

According to Welch, the Intelligence Committee has not yet made “a definitive decision” as to whether it would hold more hearings or call more witnesses. But, he said, “In my view, we actually have the information we need to proceed.” The next step, he said, would be for the committee to prepare a report with recommendations and, pursuant to a vote, send it to the House Judiciary Committee. The latter committee is expected to draft articles of impeachment, which would require approval by the full House.

Though Welch said he found the hearings “extremely focused and disciplined” — and largely free of typical congressional grandstanding — he wasn’t sure whether they would change minds. “We did our job as best as we could, but it’s in the context of a modern media situation where the conspiracy theories penetrate into the mainstream.”

As for whether any Republican members of Congress had been persuaded to support impeachment? “I don’t think so,” he said. “Not yet.”

During his final opportunity to speak at Thursday’s hearing, Welch opted to deliver prepared remarks rather than question the witnesses. In his speech, he said that the testimony he’d heard “reaffirms a very central fact: President Trump conditioned our foreign policy and national security on getting a valuable political benefit from Ukraine.” He added, “It’s equally clear that President Trump has launched a coverup — a disinformation campaign — to hide this abuse of power from the American people.”

Pausing for dramatic effect, Welch said, “Now the president and even some members of this committee are pretending this is normal. It is not. It must never be. No other president has betrayed his office like this by putting his own small political interest above our national interest and our national security.”

Disclosure: Paul Heintz worked as Peter Welch’s communications director from November 2008 to March 2011.

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Paul Heintz was part of the Seven Days news team from 2012 to 2020. He served as political editor and wrote the "Fair Game" political column before becoming a staff writer.

23 replies on “As Impeachment Hearings Wrap, Welch Says Trump ‘Betrayed’ Oath of Office”

  1. Trump is nothing but a liar, traitor and dictator and the Republican party is just trying to cover it up! Nunes was in Ukraine at the time they had the mid term elections, they should have an inquiry why he was there….

  2. Welch should talk about other people “violating their oath of office”. Look in a mirror buddy. Every day.

  3. “Term limits please. I’ve had my fill of old, bald white men.” – Jimmy

    That’s racist hate speech Jimmy. 7Days, how can you allow this???

    The great irony here is that Jimmy is likely white himself and just hating on himself and his own because it’s trendy.

  8. Trump behaves like a guilty man: blocking people from testifying , defying Congressional subpoenas , and lying thru his teeth. When it comes to Putin and what Russia has done Trump behaves like a man who has been compromised and leveraged, he bows before Putin and makes excuses for him, often repeating Russian talking points. The only thing more pathetic and dishonest than Trump are the un-American cowards and sycophants who defend him, either in Congress, the media , or with their votes.

    No mountain of evidence will move Congressional Republicans to vote to either impeach or remove Trump from office, they have sold their souls to Trump, Steven Miller, and corrupt AG Bill Barr. Republicans have shown the world want it is they want: it is a Right Wing/ White Supremacist/Faux Christian fascism. Their desire for this is not new, it has been there all along, Trump has let them bring it out into the light.

  9. “Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan are thoroughly partisan, totally reactionary, and hopeless entrenched in Washington DC swamp politics. What has become of Republican Party?”

    Just askin.

  10. Peter Welch is thoroughly partisan, totally leftist and hopelessly entrenched in Washington D.C. swamp politics. What has become of Democrat party?

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