The House floor atmosphere was tense as members argued over whether to impeach President Trump for his role in the assault on the Capitol:
“If instigating a deadly uprising isn’t enough to oust a president, what is?” asked Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas.
“The president didn’t even mention violence, let alone provoke or incite it last Wednesday,” said Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla. “You made a mockery of the impeachment process.”
Only four times in American history has Congress deposed a president.
1868: Andrew Johnson, for breaking a law forbidding him to fire his Secretary of War.
1998: Bill Clinton, for are under oath about his relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky.
2019: Donald Trump (the first time), for abuse of power – withholding military aid in an attempt to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Biden family.
2021: Mr. Trump, again.
Correspondent Rita Braver asked, “Where do you think this accusation will go down, in terms of the seriousness of the offense?”
“This charge is the most blatant charge ever brought against a US president: calling a mob to the capital and then inciting an uprising,” said American University history professor Allan Lichtman. He said the impeachment vote was astonishing because ten members of the president’s own party – most of all impeachment proceedings in history – voted ‘yes’.
One of them was Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash. She said in the House, “My vote to oust our incumbent president is not a fear-based decision. I am not taking sides; I am choosing the truth.”
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Braver asked her, “Was this a matter of conscience to you?”
“For me it was a matter of, if I’m a grandmother, can I look at this impassively and say to myself, ‘I believe in the attitude I’ve taken’? And I can tell you right now, I know that I will. “
“Do you think this will make you lose your seat?”
“I don’t know,” Herrera Beutler replied. “I knew that by taking the vote it would question everything.”
View: Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler describes her experience when the Capitol was attacked:
Now it is up to the United States Senate to decide whether to condemn President Trump. Senate leader Mitch McConnell will not initiate a trial before the inauguration, when the Democrats take control of the Senate. Some experts argue that it is unconstitutional to try a president after leaving office. But others, like Douglas Brinkley, a history professor at Rice University, say it’s okay.
Braver asked, “So if Trump were convicted, would he automatically be banned from public office again?”
“No, for the first article of indictment for inciting riots, two-thirds of the US Senate would have to agree, and if they did, there would be a second vote to forever prevent him from joining in any way. the US government. or form – and it only needs 50%. “
But many Republicans argue that it is divisive and a waste of time to go after someone who is out the door anyway.
“Now is the time for all of us, Democrats and Republicans alike, to lower the temperature,” said Representative Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc.
Braver asked Lichtman: ‘Is it not logical on some levels to just say,’ Okay, it’s done, it’s over ‘?’
He replied, “It is very important to take a moral stand against this.”
But no matter what happens to President Trump, there is still the question of healing the rift in a deeply divided country. When asked how this period will stack up in history, Brinkley replied, “I think it’s the second after the Civil War in the sense of seeing our country so divided.”
Still, Herrera Beutler believes the impeachment process proves that our democracy is still strong: “I can vote my conscience on the House floor and turn off the most powerful man in the world, not because I want to, but because I felt I had to And the government isn’t just throwing me in jail. It works before our eyes. “
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Story produced by Jon Carras and Michelle Kessel. Editor: Carol Ross.