House Democrats Unveil Two Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump
Trump is not happy about the two articles of impeachment brought against him on Tuesday (Dec. 10) morning by House Democrats.
They are charging him with abuse of power in the Ukraine affair and obstruction of Congress, NPR reports.
Trump quickly took to Twitter to give his opinion about the charges, calling it a “WITCH HUNT!” in one post and “Ridiculous” in another.
“Nadler just said that I ‘pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 Election.’ Ridiculous, and he knows that is not true. Both the President & Foreign Minister of Ukraine said, many times, that there “WAS NO PRESSURE.” Nadler and the Dems know this, but refuse to acknowledge!” Trump tweeted.
During a press conference following the announcement of the two charges, House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy was asked about Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani’s travel to Ukraine, CNN reports.
“He’s an individual citizen,” McCarthy told reporters. “That is not the question that we have before us. It’s about impeachment.”
But when asked if Giuliani traveling there makes it harder to defend Trump, McCarthy said, “it is not hard to defend this president, sheerly on the facts of what’s out there,” CNN reports.
Vice President Pence said, “What’s happening in Washington, D.C., today is a disgrace,” CNN reports.
Pence was speaking in Pennsylvania at an event for veterans and added that the articles of impeachment were created by Democrats “because they know they can’t run against this president in 2020. They can’t run against our record. They can’t run against the results,” CNN reports.
The House Democrat’s charges came 77 days after the House launched a formal inquiry into Trump’s freezing of assistance to Ukraine and request to investigate his political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, NPR reports.
The articles of impeachment against Trump mark the fourth time in U.S. history this has occurred, NPR reports.
Trump’s articles of impeachment follow Andrew Johnson in 1868, Richard Nixon in 1974 and Bill Clinton in 1998, CNN reports.
The Senate acquitted Johnson, Nixon resigned before he could be formally impeached, and Clinton was also acquitted by the Senate in 1999, CNN reports.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Trump “consistently puts himself above the country,” NPR reports.
Furthermore, Nadler said, Trump’s actions in the Ukraine affair left the House with no choice but to resort to the remedy prescribed in the Constitution for the most egregious wrongdoing by a president, NPR reports.
Nadler said, “We must be clear: No one -- not even the president -- is above the law.”