Team,

While the Capitol was under siege on January 6th, I was locked down in my office with my colleague Rep. Ted Lieu. While the attack was ongoing, we wrote the resolution to impeach Donald Trump for high crimes and misdemeanors.

It was immediately clear to me that the efforts of Donald Trump and his allies to discredit and undermine the results of a free and fair democratic election were reaching their boiling point. Trump wanted to throw out the votes of the American people and force local, state, or national officials to choose him the winner despite not a single shred of evidence for the fraud he claims was rampant - and so his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol intending to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory.

Donald Trump put the lives of a coequal branch of government at risk. He trampled on the tradition of the peaceful tradition of power and has done unspeakable harm to our democratic system. He betrayed the trust of the nation. And so, the House moved quickly to pass the resolution I wrote and introduced, and impeached him for the second time.

I was humbled that Speaker Pelosi asked me to serve as an impeachment manager for the case in the Senate, and it was a privilege to serve alongside my talented colleagues and our incredible teams. We have worked around the clock to present our case and refused to be swayed from that mission, even as my fellow impeachment managers and I were granted enhanced security and Trump supporters flooded our offices with vicious calls.

Because what was on my mind most often over the past few weeks is this: Our democracy demands our vigilance.

We cannot assume our norms will triumph if we do not protect them. We cannot assume our values will win the day if we do not lead with them and act on them at every opportunity. We cannot build a more perfect union if we do not undertake the hard work today in hopes of a better tomorrow.

That's why I support the independent commission to further investigate the January 6th attacks on the U.S. Capitol and former President Donald Trump's actions so we can learn of all the actors that were involved in planning and acting out the insurrection and hold them accountable.

I'm proud that we defended our democracy. I'm grateful to the seven senators who put our country ahead of Donald Trump's Republican Party to make this the most bipartisan presidential impeachment verdict in history. And I'm grateful to everyone who reached out over the past few weeks to share your support for our case.

Stay safe and keep the faith.

- David----

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