WASHINGTON — House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment Tuesday morning that charge President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his dealings with Ukraine and his stonewalling of the lawmakers investigating him.
Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) said Trump “consistently puts himself above the country” and the president’s actions in the Ukraine affair left the House with no choice but to resort to the remedy of impeachment.
Read the full articles of impeachment.
Impeachment is the most severe action Congress can take as prescribed in the Constitution for the most egregious wrongdoing by a president.
“Our president holds the ultimate public trust,” Nadler said at a news conference in the Capitol. “When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution, he endangers our democracy, and he endangers our national security.”
The committee will vote on the articles later this week, Nadler said, and a vote by the full House is expected next week. Trump is likely to face trial in the Senate early next year.
The White House press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, accused Democrats of “manufacturing an impeachment inquiry and forcing unfounded accusations down the throats of the American people.”
The Democrats have focused on the allegation that Trump tried to leverage a White House meeting and military aid sought by Ukraine to combat Russian military aggression. In exchange for an announcement from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he would launch an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, the aid would be released and the meeting would take place, the Democrats charge.
No evidence of wrongdoing by either Biden has surfaced.
“The evidence of the president’s misconduct is overwhelming and uncontested,” said House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam B. Schiff (D-CA), adding that the 2020 election is too important to hold off on impeaching Trump.
“The argument, ‘Why don’t you just wait?’ comes down to this: Why don’t you just let him cheat in just one more election?” Schiff said, calling impeachment “a question of duty.”
The move will bring a sitting president to the brink of impeachment for only the fourth time in American history.
Trump attacked House Democrats on Tuesday before the articles were unveiled, saying they were engaged in “sheer Political Madness.”
In a House Judiciary Committee hearing Monday, lawyers for House Democrats presented evidence they said shows the president has abused his power, obstructed Congress and should be removed from office.
“President Trump’s persistent and continuing effort to coerce a foreign country to help him cheat to win an election is a clear and present danger to our free and fair elections and to our national security,” committee lawyer Daniel Goldman said.
House Republicans have attacked the impeachment process and said the effort is politically motivated.
“At the end of the day, all this is about is a clock and a calendar,” said Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), the lead Republican on the panel, “and they can’t get over the fact that Donald J. Trump is president of the United States, and they don’t think they have a candidate who can beat him.”
The White House rejected offers from Democrats to participate in the House inquiry, blocked officials from testifying and refused to turn over documents.
White House lawyer Pat Cipollone has called the inquiry “completely baseless” and unfair.
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