With son sitting with her, Rep. Martha Roby votes against Trump impeachment
MONTGOMERY — With her son on her lap, U.S. Rep. Martha Roby, R-Ala., voted against impeaching President Donald Trump on Friday, after making remarks earlier this week in which she said she believed the examination process was flawed.
"The articles of impeachment before us in this Committee do not meet the necessary requirements nor have they followed an exhaustive pursuit to even find all of the facts of the case," she said. "Therefore, the bar to impeach a sitting president of the United States has not been met."
Roby's son, George, was present for the Thursday mark-up of the articles and the Friday vote. Her office did not immediately respond to questions Friday about her son's presence.
The representative, who is not seeking re-election next year, did not comment on the substance of the charges against the president in her remarks. The House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Friday to impeach the president on two charges. The first is that he withheld aid from Ukraine to get embarrassing information on former Vice President Joe Biden, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president.
The second charges the president with obstruction of justice for refusing to comply with subpoenas issued by Congress during the course of the investigation.
Roby said she believed the process had been "incomplete" and accused Democrats of not calling fact witnesses or allowing minority Republicans the "right to a hearing." The White House has refused to make staff members available and has refused to send lawyers to participate in the hearing.
Roby was first elected to the U.S. House in 2010. In 2016, she called for Trump to step down as Republican presidential nominee after audio surfaced in which Trump bragged about grabbing women's genitals. She was the only Republican in Alabama to stand by her criticism, which became a point of attack against her in the 2016 and 2018 elections.
Republican opponents in the primary for her southeast Alabama House district in 2018 repeatedly brought up that criticism during the primary. Roby did not disown it but stressed her support for the president's policies. She managed to secure an endorsement from Trump and won re-election.
"For the record, let me be clear: I believe in the rule of law," Roby said. "I believe that no person is above the law. I believe process is vital to this very institution."
Roby has said Trump did not play a factor in her decision to step away from Congress.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Brian Lyman at 334-240-0185 or blyman@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Impeachment: Rep. Martha Roby votes against Trump impeachment
