Christian Ziegler leads local officials slamming impeachment inquiry

Christian Ziegler

Whether any Republican Congressmen from Florida support impeaching President Donald Trump remains very much an open question. But at least 32 elected Republicans in Florida have made clear they don’t want that to happen.

Sarasota County Commissioner Christian Ziegler, also vice chair of the Republican Party of Florida, circulated a latter condemning the current inquiry. He said the process needs to stop and the entire House should vote on whether to legally authorize a formal process or stop the gamesmanship.

“Throughout this inquiry, we have watched Democrats in Congress do whatever it takes to achieve their political goal of removing our elected President,” he wrote.

Ziegler circulated the document among state and local Republicans and got 31 addition co-signatories just through word of mouth. Some are well known Trump supporters, like state Sen. Joe Gruters, who co-chaired Trump’s Florida campaign in 2016. But other names reach down to county and city posts, even a Soil and Water Conservation District supervisor.

When he’s done gathering signatures, Ziegler intends to send the letter to all members of Florida’s House and Senate delegations.

The full text and list of signatories so far appear below:

Honorable Members of Florida’s Congressional Delegation:

As elected officials in Florida – a state in which 4,618,886 voters allocated their 29 Electoral Votes to Donald J. Trump in 2016 – we are deeply concerned with the United States House of Representatives moving forward with their “Presidential Impeachment Inquiry”. 

We believe that it is time to demand an end to this political effort to bypass the ballot box, nullify the results of the 2016 election, unseat a duly elected President and eliminate a choice for voters in 2020, until a vote of the entire House is taken to legally authorize the inquiry.

This ridiculous “Presidential Impeachment Inquiry”, which centers on a phone conversation in July between President Trump and a foreign leader, was prematurely launched before the transcript of the call was released. Today, even after the full release of the phone call transcripts showing no quid-pro-quo, the witch hunt continues in secret without providing every Member of Congress equal access to information, without allowing the Trump Administration to be represented, and most importantly – without allowing the American people to keep their watchful eye on the process.

Throughout this inquiry, we have watched Democrats in Congress do whatever it takes to achieve their political goal of removing our elected President. For example, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff lied to the American people – later claiming his comments to be a “parody” – in his opening statement before the House Intelligence Committee, Democrats have selectively leaked information in an effort to drive a desired narrative, and both testimony and evidence has been purposely withheld from Members of Congress, The Trump Administration and the American People.

This Congressional impeachment charade isn’t just flawed, it’s a disgrace and it’s hurting our country.

Under the leadership of President Trump, America has achieved historically low unemployment,  placed two conservative Justices on the Supreme Court, unleashed American energy dominance, increased our security at the border, revived manufacturing, reinforced a respect for law & order, reestablished our relationship with Israel, and imposed a focus on America first on the world stage, yet we still have many challenges facing our country that must be addressed. For example – jobs, water quality, infrastructure, and the opioid epidemic are just some issues important to Florida. Tackling these issues that affect our families and quality of life, rather than engaging in political games in Washington, should be the focus of our elected leaders.

Taking a step back – Can you imagine what additional successes at the federal, state and local level we could achieve if Democrats in Congress simply accepted the results of the 2016 election, stopped working against our President and begin working alongside the President for the people?

FOR THESE REASONS we respectfully call on you to protect Florida voters from becoming disenfranchised, defend & support our elected President and get Congress focused on delivering for our country, state and local communities by opposing this Congressional impeachment charade.

Thank you for your time and willingness to serve our state – 

Christian Ziegler

County Commissioner, Sarasota County

Dennis Baxley

Florida State Senator, District 12

Joe Gruters

Florida State Senator, District 23

Jason Shoaf

Florida State Representative, District 7

Cord Byrd

Florida State Representative, District 11

Anthony Sabatini

Florida State Representative, District 32

Will Robinson

Florida State Representative, District 71

James Buchanan

Florida State Representative, District 74

Toby Overdorf

Florida State Representative, District 83

John Tobia

County Commissioner, Brevard County

Bill Truex

County Commissioner, Charlotte County

Gavin Rollins

County Commissioner, Clay County

Doug Underhill

County Commissioner, Escambia County

David Sullivan

County Commissioner, Flagler County

William Massey

County Commissioner, Franklin County

Clint Pate

County Commissioner, Jackson County

Josh Blake

County Commissioner, Lake County

John Meeks

County Commissioner (Chairman), Levy County

Alston Kelly

County Commissioner, Madison County

Donnie Waldrep

County Commissioner, Madison County

Vanessa Baugh

County Commissioner, Manatee County

David Moore

County Commissioner, Marion County

Terry Burroughs

County Commissioner, Okeechobee County

Larry Harvey

County Commissioner, Putnam County

Sean Murphy

County Commissioner, Taylor County

Ralph Thomas

County Commissioner, Wakulla County

Joel Greenberg

Tax Collector, Seminole County

Joe Arnold

School Board Member, Okeechobee County

Val Zudans

Mayor, Vero Beach

Becton Roddenberry

City Commissioner, Sopchoppy

Tracey Zudans

Hospital District Trustee, Indian River County 

Richard DeNapoli

Broward Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor, Seat 2