Source: Xinhua News Agency / Getty
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) vowed to bring an article of impeachment to the floor against President Donald Trump on Monday. After unsuccessful calls for Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office over the weekend, the speaker kept true to her words.
The article charges Trump with “inciting an insurrection by falsely claiming the Nov. 3 election was stolen from him and encouraging supporters to storm the Capitol as lawmakers were certifying the results.” An unprecedented step for lawmakers as they continue to grapple with the events of last week’s certification vote.
“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government,” the article reads. “He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power , and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He therefore betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
Democrats tried to bring a resolution encouraging Pence to go forward with the 25th Amendment, but the motion was blocked by Rep. Alex Mooney (R-W.VA) and will be put up for a vote on Tuesday. Pelosi’s focus will now turn to the impeachment charge, which House Democrats would like to turnaround with a steadfast process before Trump is out of office on Jan. 20.
“Days have passed, and it is clear that neither of those possibilities will be realized,” David Cicilline (D-RI) wrote in an Op-Ed piece for The New York Times on Monday. “So it is Congress’s responsibility to act.”
President-elect Joe Biden held a press conference last Wednesday after rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, but remains quiet about whether he supports efforts by his Democrat colleagues to impeach Trump in his final days. Biden said he would “leave that question up to lawmakers” when asked by reporters on Friday.
House Democrats introduce impeachment article; Republican forces vote on 25th Amendment was originally published on wbt.com
