U.S. Rep. Ken Buck maintained that past Democratic presidents weren’t impeached after they committed abuses of power and “undermined democracy” during Wednesday’s formal impeachment debate in the House of Representatives.

“Today Democrats lower the bar for impeachment,” said Buck, a Windsor Republican and the chairman of the Colorado GOP. “Under this standard, a president can be impeached in the absence of a crime, without due process, for asserting a constitutionally recognized privilege.”

Buck, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, made a similar argument last week before voting against two articles of impeachment charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstructing Congress.

On Wednesday, as the full House moved toward sending the charge against Trump to the Senate for a trial, Buck ticked off instances he said demonstrate that Trump’s Democratic predecessors in the White House have gotten away with the same kind of behavior that underlies the impeachment allegations.

Buck said Franklin Roosevelt used the IRS to target opponents, John Kennedy wiretapped his foes, Lyndon Johnson spied on his rival’s campaign and Barack Obama committed a series of infractions, including appointing officials in a move later overturned by the Supreme Court. 

“Despite these clear abuses of power by FDR, JFK, LBJ and Obama, Republicans did not impeach,” Buck said. “Why? Because the framers did not want a low bar for impeachment. They wanted Congress and the president to work out their differences.”

Below are Buck’s complete remarks:

“History shows Democrat presidents have abused power, undermined democracy to win elections, and yet they have not been impeached.

“President Franklin Roosevelt used the IRS to target his political opponents. His son later admitted FDR used quote the IRS a a weapon of political retribution.

“President John F. Kennedy used the FBI to wiretap and monitor political opponents, including congressional staff. He deported one of his mistresses to avoid scandal.

“President Lyndon Johnson spied on Goldwater’s campaign, signing off on wiretapping his opponent and Goldwater’s airplane and using a CIA spy to obtain advance copies of Goldwater’s strategies and speeches.

“President Barack Obama refused to provide documents to Congress related to Fast and Furious. His unconstitutional recess appointments were unanimously struck down by the Supreme Court. He used national security agencies to lie to the American people about Benghazi to win the 2012 election. He spied on reporters. Finally, it was the Obama administration that committed 17 serious violations before the FISA court to spy on Trump campaign associates.

“Despite these clear abuses of power by FDR, JFK, LBJ and Obama, Republicans did not impeach. Why? Because the framers did not want a low bar for impeachment. They wanted Congress and the president to work out their differences.

“When I asked Professor Turley in a Judiciary Committee hearing whether any president could avoid impeachment with those low standards, he said no.

“I yield back.”