Representatives on the House Judiciary Committee debated the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Thursday. The proceedings unsurprisingly led to some spirited debate.
One notable moment came when Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) brought up Stormy Daniels, the adult film actress whom Trump paid to keep quiet about an affair the two had when she threatened to go public with it ahead of the 2016 election.
Lofgren reminded her Republican colleagues that former President Bill Clinton was impeached for "lying about sex."
Watch below.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren compares President Trump's impeachment case to the proceedings against Bill Clinton: "If it's lyi… https://t.co/qYZS1vzyJu— CBS News (@CBS News) 1576164012.0
Lofgren said:
"[W]e could put Stormy Daniels' case ahead of us. We don't believe that's a high crime and misdemeanor, and it's not before us, and it should not be before us because it's not an abuse of presidential power."
While Trump did repeatedly lie about the affair, Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) pointed out that Clinton lied about sex under oath to a grand jury:
"The important thing is that Bill Clinton lied to a grand jury. That is a crime. The articles of impeachment that passed the House accused Bill Clinton of lying to a grand jury, a crime and something that obstructs the ability of the court to get to the truth. This is not what is happening here. Big difference."
With the exception of written answers to Special Counsel Robert Mueller during the Russia investigation (in which there is evidence he lied), Trump hasn't testified under oath, let alone before Congress.
While Sensenbrenner was technically correct, people still loved the point made by Lofgren.
@mkraju Love how she threw that in the record!— Laceyunderall (@Laceyunderall) 1576163474.0
@mkraju She is calmly spreading fire all over the GOP talking points. 🔥— Melissa Thomas (@Melissa Thomas) 1576163708.0
She went there...and it was awesome 👏👏 https://t.co/1FtXvcoxyr— Kari Ritter Hicks (@Kari Ritter Hicks) 1576163594.0
I've said it before and I'll say it again: if the GOP calls Hunter Biden as a witness the Dems should call… https://t.co/uZhY8813NT— janice (@janice) 1576164581.0
lol https://t.co/Co6gquIUTe— Flushing Chicken™🐓 (@Flushing Chicken™🐓) 1576163457.0
Finally, someone points out the hypocrisy rampant in the GOP. https://t.co/NuEa49NVq4 https://t.co/fvl0IjOkmq— Jeffrey Anderson (@Jeffrey Anderson) 1576174504.0
@emptywheel Donald’s payment to Daniels was a campaign finance violation & should be part of another article of impeachment— ITMFAmplicator (@ITMFAmplicator) 1576163786.0
@emptywheel He is not fit to serve. They said Clinton was worse because he lied to Grand Jury. Trump lies every 2 m… https://t.co/4oxCX5A190— Sean Tiwanak (@Sean Tiwanak) 1576164075.0
@emptywheel If only Trump would testify before a grand jury we would have a fair comparison...— 🌊a 9 million popular majority🌊 (@🌊a 9 million popular majority🌊) 1576165106.0
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, currently sits in prison for campaign finance violations in his payments to Daniels, which he testified were ordered by Trump himself.
Lofgren is the only congressperson to have been present for three impeachments, having been a congressional staffer during the Nixon impeachment.