Democrats Unveil Articles Of Impeachment Charging Trump With Abuse Of Power And Obstructing Congress

Topline: House Democrats unveiled two articles of impeachment Tuesday that charge President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, a step that will likely lead to Trump becoming the fourth president of the United States to be impeached. He could face a Senate trial in early 2020.

• The formal announcement of charges by Democrats on Tuesday will set in motion a full House vote on articles of impeachment as early as next week, followed by a trial in the Senate, which will likely take place after Christmas. 
• House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was joined by judiciary chair Jerry Nadler and intelligence chair Adam Schiff in announcing the charges, following nearly three months of impeachment hearings after Pelosi announced proceedings on September 24.
• The articles accuse Trump of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election, Nadler said. It is claimed that Trump withheld nearly $400 million of military aid to Ukraine in an effort to pressure the country to investigate Joe Biden, his political rival.
• Obstruction of Congress was the second charge, for Trump’s alleged attempts to obstruct the congressional inquiry. “No one, not even the President, is above the law,” Nadler said.
• Reacting to the charges, Trump once again referred to the proceedings as a “witch hunt,” tweeting after the announcement that the impeachment was “political madness!”
• White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said the process was a “sham” and “simply the dems weaponizing impeachment to try & undermine [Trump].”

Crucial quote: “Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution, and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment charging the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump, with committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” Nadler said.

He added: “Our president holds the ultimate public trust, When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution, he endangers our democracy, and he endangers our national security.”

Surprising fact: There had been a desire among some Democrats to charge Trump with bribery over allegations of a ‘quid pro quo’ with Ukraine. They also have not filed charges of obstruction of justice, which Democrats had been investigating in connection with the Mueller report that found several instances of Trump trying to hamper the investigation into collusion between his campaign and Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Key background: The congressional impeachment inquiry has seen almost three months of public and private testimony from former Trump administration officials and key aides, despite attempts by Trump to block them from testifying. On Monday, the house judiciary committee held its second impeachment hearing. The committee is expected to debate the articles on Wednesday and vote on them on Thursday, before the House does so next week, paving the way for a formal vote on impeachment before Christmas and a trial in the Senate in the new year.

Further reading: ‘You’re The One Committing Treason’: InfoWars Host Disrupts Impeachment Hearing (Lisette Voytko)

Here’s What Would Have To Happen For Trump To Be Impeached (Lisette Voytko)