House Democrats introduce article of impeachment against Trump

Table Of Content

• MORE: Draft article of impeachment charges Trump with 'incitement of insurrection' in Capitol mob attack
• MORE: Trump should resign or be removed by 25th Amendment: Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger
• House Democrats introduce article of impeachment to remove Trump
• MORE: Draft article of impeachment charges Trump with 'incitement of insurrection' in Capitol mob attack

If the article is passed, Trump would be the first U.S. president in history to be impeached twice. A conviction in the Senate -- which appears far more likely now, with significant GOP support and Democrats soon to control the chamber -- would bring a number of consequences for Trump. Jan. 11 (UPI) -- House Democrats introduced a single article of impeachment during a session Monday and appear to have enough support for its passage -- but Republicans blocked unanimous consent for a separate effort to remove President Donald Trump under the 25th Amendment.

MORE: Draft article of impeachment charges Trump with 'incitement of insurrection' in Capitol mob attack

It's possible the chamber will vote on the article of impeachment on Wednesday, as well. Presidents who are impeached and removed from office lose their $210,000 annual pension, hundreds of thousands of dollars in other post-presidency cash allowances, their lifelong Secret Service protection, government-funded healthcare and the right to a state funeral. Additionally, the Senate in its conviction could ban an impeached president from ever holding federal office again. If Pence doesn't respond, the House intends to vote on the article of impeachment, as soon as Wednesday, House Majority Whip James Clyburn said. The resolution was introduced as tensions at the Capitol were still high Monday, five days after a violent siege by thousands of the president's supporters that came after an inflammatory rally by Trump and his allies in front of the White House. The House impeached Mr. Trump in December 2018 on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, although he was acquitted by the Senate in early February 2019.

MORE: Trump should resign or be removed by 25th Amendment: Illinois Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger

It’s still unclear, if the article of impeachment is passed, when it would be sent over to the Senate, which would trigger an immediate trial. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he won't bring back the Senate from recess before Jan. 19, which could push the trial into the beginning of the Biden administration. “The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. The House will next take up the Raskin legislation in regular order to call upon the Vice President to activate the 25th Amendment to remove the President. We are further calling on the Vice President to respond within 24 hours after passage,” she said. The House is expected to begin considering the article of impeachment on Wednesday morning.

House Democrats introduce article of impeachment to remove Trump

Upton said Congress must "send a clear message that our country cannot and will not tolerate any effort by any President to impede the peaceful transfer of power." Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, announced Tuesday in a tweet, "I will vote in favor of impeachment."

House Republicans join Democrats in voting to impeach Trump

Some Democrats have said the lower chamber should delay sending the article of impeachment over to the Senate until President-elect Joe Biden has a Cabinet in place. But other Democrats, including Hoyer, have said the Senate trial should not be delayed. "To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democracy," Katko said in a statement reported by Syracuse.com.

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Congressman Jim Clyburn has suggested that the House may choose to hold on to the article of impeachment during Mr. Biden's first 100 days so that his presidency is not derailed. A House impeachment resolution would move to the floor and could get a vote quickly, because there would be no hearings to present evidence. The Judiciary Committee has not yet been constituted for the 117th Congress, so an impeachment resolution would go directly to the floor under what's known as a "privileged resolution." A simple majority of members in the House is required for impeachment, so it seems likely to pass. The "incitement of insurrection" article of impeachment was introduced by Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., Ted Lieu, D-Calif., and David Cicilline, D-R.I., along with more than 210 Democratic co-sponsors.

Congressman John Katko was the first Republican to say he'd vote to impeach Mr. Trump on Tuesday. Katko represents a district in upstate New York which leans Democratic, and he has faced significant challenges in his last two elections. "The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, continued.

For this, the article says, Mr. Trump should be impeached, removed and disqualified from holding public office again. As a result, he "gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States." The article cites his baseless and repeated claims about "widespread voter fraud" in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election as a key contributing factor to last Wednesday's riot. During a pro forma session, House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer asked for unanimous consent from all members in approving a resolution that calls on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment and declare Trump "incapable of executing the duties of his office." Six Republican lawmakers introduced a resolution to censure Mr. Trump on Tuesday evening.

The article of impeachment accuses the president of "willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States." While Congress was gathering to count the Electoral College votes, the article says that Mr. Trump, addressing supporters nearby, "willfully made statements that encouraged — and foreseeably resulted in — imminent lawless action at the  Capitol." House Democrats followed through with their threats and filed a single article of impeachment on Monday against President Donald Trump for "incitement of insurrection" following the violent mob riot on Capitol Hill last week that left five people dead. Washington — Ten Republican members of the House, including one of its highest-ranking leaders, joined Democrats in voting to impeach President Trump for inciting the deadly attack on the Capitol last week by a violent mob of his supporters.

Unlike impeachment, censuring does not have any practical consequences, but would have only been a formal condemnation. The majority of the House Republican conference — including Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise — voted to overturn the Electoral College results last week. Last week, Kinzinger also called on Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump's Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove the president from office. Cheney, the third-ranking Republican in the House, said in a statement on Tuesday that she would vote to impeach Mr. Trump after he whipped up his supporters Wednesday at a rally not far from the Capitol.

He is on track to be the first president in U.S. history to undergo impeachment proceedings twice. The White House called the impeachment article "politically motivated" and repeated Mr. Trump's assertions in a video Thursday that he was calling for "healing and unity." The bill has over 210 cosponsors, a sign of the broad support among House Democrats to take action in the wake of the violence at the Capitol. It was authored by Democratic Representatives Ted Lieu of California, and David Cicilline of Rhode Island, who began drafting it while sheltering in place Wednesday in the Capitol complex. “As our next step, we will move forward with bringing impeachment legislation to the Floor. The President’s threat to America is urgent, and so too will be our action,” she said.

"Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session's solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts," the article says. The House will vote on Tuesday on a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, which allows the vice president and the majority of the president's Cabinet to remove a president if he is deemed unfit for office. If Pence does not respond within 24 hours of the House passing this resolution, it will proceed with taking up the article of impeachment.