2021-01-08 at 6:22 PM UTC
The Washington Post
House Democrats move rapidly toward impeaching Trump a second time (edited for length)
Mike DeBonis
A growing corps of House Democrats, furious over the invasion of the Capitol on Wednesday by a mob inspired and encouraged by President Trump, is pushing to rapidly impeach the president a second time — hoping to force Trump from office even a few days early rather than allow him to leave on his own terms.
Removing Trump by constitutional means is a tall order for the 12 days remaining in his presidency, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has not made a formal determination to move forward with a second impeachment, even as she consulted Friday with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff about curbing Trump’s ability to launch nuclear weapons.
Outrage over Wednesday’s events has grown to the point that it could be impossible for Pelosi to ignore, prompting a rapid vote as soon as early next week, according to interviews with House Democratic members and aides.
Pelosi said Thursday that “Congress may be prepared to move forward with impeachment” if Vice President Pence did not act in concert with the Cabinet to remove Trump from office under the terms of the 25th Amendment. But she said she had no immediate plans to recall lawmakers to begin that process.
“If he wants to be unique and be doubly impeached, that’s kind of up to him and his Cabinet as to whether he should stay in office,” she said.
On Friday, she said in a letter to Democratic lawmakers: “If the President does not leave office imminently and willingly, the Congress will proceed with our action.” She did not specify what that action would be.
In the letter, she also described speaking to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, “to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike.” She further described Trump as “unhinged” and said lawmakers “must do everything that we can” to protect the nation from him.
Pelosi is expected to lead a noon conference call of House lawmakers Friday to discuss next steps. Several Democrats said Friday that an impeachment vote could come together as soon as Monday or Tuesday if the decision is made to move forward.
More than 60 House Democrats signed a letter late Thursday asking the three top House Democratic leaders to reconvene the House as soon as possible to “show the American people that Congress is continuing to meet its responsibilities in the face of extraordinary threats” and take action, including a possible impeachment.
Two draft articles of impeachment have been circulated among House Democrats that cite Trump’s incitement of the mob and his delayed decision to encourage it to disperse as high crimes and misdemeanors necessitating removal.
“We just suffered the most massive, violent invasion of the U.S. Capitol in American history since the War of 1812,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), author of one of the drafts. “It is unthinkable to me that we would allow this simply to be, you know, one more unfortunate faux pas by the president. He has counseled and invited an attack on the Congress of the United States itself.”
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) told “CBS This Morning” on Friday that he could “consider” any impeachment articles forwarded by the House.
“He swore an oath to the American people to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution,” Sasse said. “He acted against that. What he did was wicked.”
Trump’s remarks before Capitol riot may be investigated, says acting U.S. attorney in D.C.
While House Democrats could impeach Trump in the House on their own, removing him would require a two-thirds vote of the Senate — meaning 17 Republicans would have to join with the 50 Democrats that will be seated once Sens.-elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are certified as the winners of last Tuesday’s Georgia runoffs.
Trump could still be impeached after he leaves office, most constitutional scholars say, which would have the effect of barring him from the presidency again. But there is a political barrier to proceeding with a Senate trial: the impending inauguration of Biden, and his need to rapidly confirm a Cabinet.
Biden has not weighed in on a possible impeachment.
2021-01-08 at 9:12 PM UTC
Reuters
U.S. House Democrats to introduce impeachment charges against Trump on Monday
WASHINGTON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives plan to introduce new articles of impeachment against Republican President Donald Trump on Monday, calling for his removal from office, two people familiar with the matter said on Friday.
The sources said the articles, which are formal charges of misconduct, were crafted by Democratic Representatives David Cicilline, Ted Lieu and Jamie Raskin following this week's assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters.
A copy of the measure circulating among members of Congress charges Trump with "inciting violence against the government of the United States" in a bid to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
The articles also cite Trump's hour-long phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which he asked the state election official to "find" enough votes to overturn that state's election, which Biden won.
"President Trump 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," the legislation states.
Trump's supporters, inflamed by his false claims of election fraud, stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, smashing windows, sending lawmakers into hiding and leaving five dead. (Reporting by David Morgan Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Howard Goller)
2021-08-27 at 4:40 PM UTC
ARE YOU PEOPLE STILL CRYING ABOUT THIS? JESUS CHRIST
2021-08-27 at 4:55 PM UTC
Apparently they're so scared of the TERRORIST INSURRECTION they're going to impeach the president for the third time.
2021-08-27 at 5:42 PM UTC
how can you impeach someone not in office?
2021-08-27 at 5:53 PM UTC
Nobody is trying to impeach anyone for the third time (although Trump has the singular honor of being the only President in history of having been impeached twice).
Putting his fat ass in prison will suffice.
2021-08-27 at 7:52 PM UTC
IT'S ALWAYS TRUMP'S FAULT!
2021-08-27 at 9:48 PM UTC
I've had constipated stools move more rapidly.
