President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House on a single charge of inciting insurgency for his role in a riot by his supporters that killed five and sacked the Capitol, leaving an indelible stain on his legacy with just a week to go. .
Wednesday’s historic vote of 232-197 makes Trump the only US president to have been impeached twice, just over a year since his first. It was backed by all Democrats and 10 Republicans, including Liz Cheney, the third GOP leader in the House.
“We know the president of the United States sparked this uprising, ”said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi before the vote. She called Trump “a clear and present danger to this country we all love.”
Pelosi will now determine how quickly the impeachment article should be sent to the Senate for trial. Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell has rejected Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s plea to agree to bring back senators for an emergency session and start the trial before January 20, when Trump leaves office and becomes President-elect Joe Biden inaugurated.
The Speaker of the House signed the impeachment article on Wednesday evening but has not indicated whether she will delay sending it to the Senate.
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Trump, in a video released by the White House on Wednesday evening, denounced the Capitol attack and called on Americans to avoid further violence. He did not mention the impeachment vote.
He has held the Republican Party in office for most of his four years. But stirring up the angry mob of supporters who stormed the Capitol on January 6 was too much for some in the GOP. Even Republicans who did not vote in favor of his impeachment denounced his actions.
McConnell has told his associates that he believes Trump committed an culpable crime last week when he urged protesters, two people familiar with the case said. In a note to his Republican colleague on Wednesday, McConnell wrote, “I have not yet made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to listen to the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
The consequences were dire. Major corporations began a deluge of announcements that they would at least temporarily stop contributions to lawmakers who joined Trump in false allegations of electoral fraud and the attempt to block the results of the Nov. 3 election. Twitter, which has served as Trump’s megaphone to his followers, banned him and he was kicked off other platforms. His business was also hit when the banks that handled his finances and the US golf industry that brought business to his clubs pulled out.
However, investors shrugged their shoulders on Wednesday in the Washington proceedings, with the S&P 500 index seeing a modest 0.2% rise from 3:31 PM.
Trump has hinted he might run for president again in 2024, but his political future was uncertain. In addition to the political damage he’s suffered, Trump could be legally barred from exercising federal office if found guilty. He also faces potential criminal and civil danger for encouraging supporters ahead of the January 6 riot.
Nancy Pelosi puts down the gavel as she presides over President Trump’s impeachment vote on Jan. 13.
Photographer: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
Shortly before the House vote, Trump again attempted to quell the furor by releasing a statement that said, “There should be NO violence, NO violation of the law and NO vandalism of any kind.”
“That’s not what I stand for, and it’s not what America stands for,” Trump said in the statement. “I urge ALL Americans to ease tensions and calm the mood.”
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House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy, a staunch Trump ally, said it would be a mistake to impeach the president in such a short time without investigation or hearings.
This is what a vote to impeach would do. It would divide this nation further. A vote to impeach will further fuel the flames of the partisan division, ”said McCarthy, who voted for two-state election votes won by Biden just hours after Trump’s loss-ridden crowd stormed the Capitol on January 6.
McCarthy was one of 138 Republicans who heeded Trump’s false claims about the election and objected to the Electoral College’s vote count in at least one state.
Democrats said there was no doubt that Trump’s public comments last week violated the oath taken by all lawmakers to uphold the constitution.
“We told you last time that if we didn’t drop him off, this would happen again. Simply put, we’ve already told you that, ”Louisiana Democratic Representative Cedric Richmond said in his final remarks to the House of Representatives before joining the Biden administration.
Some Democrats have expressed doubts about impeachment leading to a Senate trial just as Biden entered his tenure, potentially overshadowing the transfer of power and delaying ratifications of cabinet nominees and early legislative initiatives of the new Democratic government.
When lawmakers gathered in the Chamber of the House on Wednesday, the Capitol and surrounding areas in Washington looked like an armed camp. Thousands of National Guard troops and other security personnel kept watch and patrolled areas and buildings. Police closed off nearby streets with parked military vehicles, and tall metal gates enclosed much of the area.
Kevin McCarthy walks to the floor of the Capitol house on Jan. 13.
Photographer: Al Drago / Bloomberg
The attack on the Capitol stunned many lawmakers and frightened Democrats to act quickly. The impeachment process proceeded without hearings, witness statements or an investigation. That trial took place for weeks at the end of 2019, when House Democrats accused Trump of abuse of power and allegations of obstruction in connection with allegations he pressured Ukraine into investigating Biden and his son Hunter.
Democrats claimed there was clear public support for this second allegation, arguing that much of America had been rejected from what they had seen in broadcast and other media on January 6.
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Polls show that public opinion of the president has declined as a result of the violence. A Quinnipiac University survey, conducted after the Capitol storming, found that 56% of voters hold Trump accountable. In the same poll, Trump’s approval score was 33%, down from the 44% he had in a December poll.
The January 6 events started with thousands of Trump supporters gathering in Washington when Congress would confirm Biden won the election. But while Trump and his backers continued to contest the election with false allegations of electoral fraud, the president himself urged his supporters to march to the Capitol and register their opposition to the constitutional process.
The resulting attack was a scene of unprecedented calamity and trauma for the nation – a Capitol police officer died after being beaten, a rioter died after being shot, and others were injured or died in medical emergencies. Offices were looted, and there was a tense moment when even lawmakers in the House were under siege.
In all of this, President Trump brought the security of the United States and its government institutions, ”the impeachment article states. Donald John Trump was involved in serious crimes and crimes by inciting violence against the government of the United States. “
The House voted on Wednesday after about three hours of debate. The proceedings took place in the same room where Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached, as well as Trump for the first time in December 2019. None of them were convicted by the Senate.
– With the help of Erik Wasson and Daniel Flatley
(Updates with Pelosi signing the article in the fifth paragraph and additional quotes throughout.)