President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday night, becoming only the third American chief executive to be formally charged under the Constitution’s ultimate remedy for high crimes and misdemeanors.
The historic vote split along party lines, much the way it has divided the nation, over the charges that the 45th president abused the power of his office by enlisting a foreign government to investigate a political rival ahead of the 2020 election. The House then approved a second charge, that he obstructed Congress in its investigation.
The articles of impeachment, the political equivalent of an indictment, now go to the Senate for trial. If Trump is acquitted by the Republican-led chamber, as expected, he would have to run for reelection carrying the enduring mark of impeachment on his purposely disruptive presidency.
Democrats led Wednesday night’s voting, framed in what many said was their duty to protect the Constitution and uphold the nation’s system of checks and balances. Republicans stood by their party’s leader, who has frequently tested the bounds of civic norms. Trump called the whole affair a “witch hunt,” a “hoax” and a “sham,” and sometimes all three.
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1207480147391188992?s=19
The trial is expected to begin in January in the Senate, where a vote of two-thirds is necessary for conviction. While Democrats had the majority in the House to impeach Trump, Republicans control the Senate and few if any are expected to diverge from plans to acquit the president ahead of early state election-year primary voting.
Pelosi, once reluctant to lead Democrats into a partisan impeachment, now risks her majority and speakership to hold the president accountable.
“Today we are here to defend democracy for the people,” Pelosi said opening debate.
Trump, who began Wednesday tweeting his anger at the proceedings, then flew to Battle Creek, Michigan, for a political rally.
He pumped his fist before an enthusiastic crowd, boasted of “tremendous support” in the Republican Party and said, “By the way it doesn’t feel like I’m being impeached.”
https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1207485490607341572?s=19
What Pelosi called a sad and solemn moment for the country, coming in the first year that Democrats swept control of the House, unfolded in a caustic daylong session that showcased the nation’s divisions — not only along party lines, but also by region, race and culture.
The House impeachment resolution laid out in stark terms the two articles of impeachment against Trump stemming from his July phone call when he asked the Ukraine president for a “favor” — to announce it was investigating Democrats ahead of the 2020 election. He also pushed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to probe unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Joe Biden, the former vice president and 2020 White House contender.
At the time, Zelenskiy, a young comedian newly elected to politics, was seeking a coveted White House visit to show backing from the U.S. ally as it confronts a hostile Russia at its border. He was also counting on $391 million in military aid already approved by Congress. The White House delayed the funds, but Trump eventually released the money once Congress intervened.
Narrow in scope but broad in its charge, the resolution said the president “betrayed the nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections,” and then obstructed Congress’ oversight like “no president” in U.S. history.
“President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office,” it said.
Republicans argued that Democrats are impeaching Trump because they can’t beat him in 2020.
“This vote is about one thing, and one thing only: They hate this president,” said Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah. “They want to take away my vote and throw it in the trash.”
But Democrats warned the country cannot wait for the next election to decide whether Trump should remain in office because he has shown a pattern of behavior, particularly toward Russia, and will try to corrupt U.S. elections in 2020.
“The president and his men plot on,” said Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., of the Intelligence Committee that led the inquiry. “The danger persists. The risk is real.”
The outcome brings the Trump presidency to a milestone moment that has building almost from the time the New York businessman-turned-reality-TV host unexpectedly won the White House in 2016 amid questions about Russian interference in the U.S. election — and the rise of the “resistance.”
Democrats drew from history, the founders and their own experiences, as minorities, women and some immigrants to the U.S., seeking to honor their oath of office to uphold the constitution. Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., spoke in Spanish asking God to unite the nation. “In America,” said Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., “no one is above the law.”
Republicans aired Trump-style grievances about what Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko called a “rigged” process.
“We face this horror because of this map,” said Rep. Clay Higgins, R-Ala., before a poster of red and blue states. “They call this Republican map flyover country, they call us deplorables, they fear our faith, they fear our strength, they fear our unity, they fear our vote, and they fear our president.”
The political fallout from the vote will reverberate across an already polarized country with divergent views of Trump’s July phone call when Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate Democrats in the 2016 election, Biden and his son, Hunter, who worked on the board of a gas company in Ukraine while his father was the vice president.
Trump has repeatedly implored Americans to read the transcript of the call he said was “perfect.” But the facts it revealed, and those in an anonymous whistleblower’s complaint that sparked the probe, are largely undisputed.
More than a dozen current and former White House officials and diplomats testified for hours. The open and closed sessions under oath revealed what one called the “irregular channel” of foreign policy run by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, which focused on investigating the Bidens and alternative theories of 2016 election interference.
The question for lawmakers was whether the revelations amounted to impeachable offenses to be sent to the Senate for a trial.
Few lawmakers crossed party lines without consequence. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-N.J., who is considering changing parties over his opposition to impeachment, sat with Republicans. Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan conservative who left the Republican party and became an independent over impeachment, said: “I come to this floor, not as a Republican, not as a Democrat, but as an American.”
Beyond the impeachments of Andrew Johnson or Bill Clinton, this first impeachment of the 21st century is as much about what the president might do in the future as what he did in the past. And unlike investigation of Richard Nixon, who resigned rather than face the House vote over Watergate, the proceedings against Trump are playing out in an America already of mixed views over Trump.
Rank and file Democrats said they were willing to lose their jobs to protect the democracy from Trump. Some newly elected freshman remained in the chamber for hours during the debate.
“This is not about making history, this is about holding a lawless president accountable,” said Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I.
GOP Rep. Doug Collins of Georgia said of the Democrats: “You’ve been wanting to do this ever since the gentleman was elected.”
Top Republicans, including Rep. Devin Nunes on the Intelligence Committee, called the Ukraine probe little more than the low-budget sequel to former special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.
Mueller spent two years investigating the potential links between Moscow and the Trump campaign, but testified in July that his team could not establish that Trump conspired or coordinated with Russia to throw the election. Mueller did say he could not exonerate Trump of trying to obstruct the investigation, but he left that for Congress to decide.
The next day, Trump called Ukraine. Not quite four months later, a week before Christmas, Trump was impeached.
(AP)
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34 Responses
This is a result of Democrats not accepting outcome of 2016 elections. The word “democracy” in Democrat party is an oxymoron.
The “democrats” aren’t impeaching himself. He’s bringing this on himself by being a ba’al ga’ava.
I don’t know why you are listening to the Republican mantra. Use seichel.
No, they actually impeached him 3 years ago, right when he won the 2016 election.
YWN, I hope you will allow this outside link, as it sheds interesting light on this impeachment:
https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/24/watch-joe-biden-brag-about-bribing-ukraine-to-fire-the-prosecutor-investigating-his-sons-company/
Now with gloves off Trump can go full speed ahead to expose and destroy Deep State and corrupt Democrats.
TRUMP WE LOVE YOU WE WILL VOTE YOU AGAIN TRUMP 2020!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As Rabbi Miller said about Nixon in the 70s, this is about Dems not wanting to accept thr results of the election. The country is doing much better since Trump took office.
Wow, great. I’m so excited. So when does Mike Pence take over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue? When is the swearing in? Will it be streamed live? When does the impeachment begin against Mike Pence? When is Nancy Pelosi sworn in? When does her impeachment begin. This is so much fun. I love going to work so I can pay all their salaries.
Now all those red state democrats are on record voting to impeach a duly elected president on no basis whatsoever
It’s more of a probability that each one voted yes that they have nothing to hide on
Yes Moishelah…..so is the notion that there is anything left of the Republican Party. After the Russia “hoax” was dismissed by the Mueller Report, this summer, he was home free but couldn’t help himself. Two months later, he decided to hand the Dems an obvious path to impeachment with this Ukraine Meshugaas that Rudy and his chevrah dreamed up.
What a disgrace to democracy! What a miscarriage of justice and a mockery of truth! What time has come for elected members of a Congress, chosen to represent and carry out the will of the people of the United States of America, for them to knowingly abuse an innocent for political gain. Why should opinion and morals be dictated by political standing and party?
Fake Impeachment, by a bunch of baby Democrats A.K.A. sore losers.
Oh what a fool Pelosi made of herself. But she shall have plenty of time to reflect on her folly, when she is out a job after 11/3/2020. She can then take care of cleaning up the feces littered streets of San Francisco, just 1 mile from her district.
A total political sham to embarrass a president they despise. Horrendously despicable but they sure will get him elected now. Let them eat the fruits of their own labor.
This is not the “democrats” impeaching Trump
This is the duly elected House of Representatives impeaching Trump.
Perfect headline YWN. Party line vote happens in house. Yawn. The real news is that the appeals court struck down the Obamacare mandate/tax baloney that Roberts invented. It’s one or the other, can’t be both. One is illegal and one isn’t in the law as written. Gotta pick.
How about that, he finally won the popular vote.
All testimony makes the charges appear to be proper. Hopefully Trump will let Mulvany, Pompeo and other White House staff testify before the Senate so that all the facts come out. The Senators are obligated under the Constitution to act as fair and impartial jurors.
I’m curious if anyone on the editorial staff of YWN reads the AP articles (I’m assuming this is from the AP) before reprinting them here. The lies and deceipt perpetrated upon the American people by the democrats are quoted as fact here. Anyone who heard even one of the witnesses testify before the Schiff kangaroo court knows the blatant falsehoods that have now wrongly accused and impeached the president, perhaps the best president that the Jewish people have ever had. Surely you must be able to find accurate and truthful sources rather than fake news AP!
Fakehadorah, you are brainless idiot. Instead of consuming lies fed to you head by Fake News and Democrats read the transcript of the phon conversation yourself. All so called “accusation” made by sleazy Democrats based on lies and demagoguery.
Democrats will go down in history as a Party of lawless lying dangerous demagogues.
Quayboardwarrior, Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar agree with you.
message to our Democrat friends. America is sick and tired of your shtick. You just made sure Trump will be reelected with a landslide. you just woke up the bear
The most deserving president in history of impeachment. A complete corrupt, lying adulterer. Moscow Mitch and Leningrad Lindsey and their cohorts will not convict, so trump will be booted out by the people.
I am curious to find out if in fact George Soros the so called Jew who cooperated with the Nazis has been in touch with Pelosi and Schumer and all these other coup plotters?
Thank you DumboCrats!!!! Your foolishness just ensured a Trump win in 2020! This impeachment farce was the best free political advertising any political candidate could ever hope for! Thank you ! Thank You!
as usual rEtARD is projecting his personal faults on Trump. You should update your conspiracy theory talking points, even most Democrats and Fake News Media stopped talking about RussiaHoax.
@MosheinGolus
Rashida Talib and Ilhan Omar and myself all use umbrellas in the rain.
Simply because we agree on some things, doesn’t mean our opinions align on everything
Quayboardwarrior, if you agree with them on this lawlessness you probably agree with them on more things that you think.
I’m not sure if anyone clicked the link I posted above, but in that video Biden appears to be allegedly boasting about threatening to withhold American financial aid to Ukraine until they get rid of the prosecutor who was allegedly investigating Biden’s son Hunter. It appears in this video that Biden may have actually allegedly DONE the very thing they are accusing Trump of.
I will repeat the link:
https://thefederalist.com/2019/09/24/watch-joe-biden-brag-about-bribing-ukraine-to-fire-the-prosecutor-investigating-his-sons-company/
Rt
Who told Putin on a hot mic
“After the election, I’ll have more leeway”
I thought so
comment, that is the reason “quid pro quo” and “bribery” were removed from the articles of impeachment. They knew that if Biden wins the presidency he can be impeached by the Republicans on the same charges.
Trump will win the next election because so many people are fed up of the abuse of power by the Democrats.
First there was the “Russian collusion” investigation that wasted millions of taxpayers dollars, then the “quid pro quo” and “bribery” charges which they quickly traded for “abuse of power” and “obstruction of Congress” because Joe Biden also withheld Ukrainian aid to try to get what he wants so the Dems were afraid about impeaching Trump for those “offenses”.
Regardless of your personal opinion of Trump, whoever thinks this is about justice is not too smart.
“unsubstantiated corruption allegations against Joe Biden,”
whoever wrote this must be drunk biden admitted to as much that aid to ukraine wud not be forthcoming unless the prosecutor investigating his son was fired. there is a tape with biden statying such, and bragging about it and that prosecutor got fired
Philosopher, good point. I noticed that they suddenly shifted the supposed crime. Your explanation makes sense. And I agree, this impeachment is not about justice. They’ve been talking about impeaching him since he took office. Whether you love Trump or hate him, what they are doing is not fair.