House Democrats officially announced two articles of impeachment against the president on December 10, 2019.
After months of investigation, the Democrats believed it prudent to charge President Trump with obstruction of Congress and abuse of power. The House Judiciary Committee will have a formal vote on the articles by Friday, meaning the House could vote on impeachment before Congress takes their Christmas break.
Announcement
Below is a recording of the official announcement.
During a press conference House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stated:
“Throughout this inquiry, he has attempted to conceal the evidence from Congress, and from the American people. … The framers of the Constitution prescribed a clear remedy for presidents who so violate their oath of office. That is the power of impeachment.”
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) added:
“The president’s oath of office appears to mean very little to him. But the articles put forward today will give us a chance to show that we will defend the Constitution and that our oath means something to us.”
The announcement came one day after Democrats gave their evidence to the Judiciary Committee. They argued that the POTUS abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden’s son and obstructed Congress by ordering witnesses to ignore subpoenas.
Next Step
It’s expected that the House, which is currently controlled by the Democrats, will vote to pass the articles of impeachment. Once that happens, the Senate will conduct a formal trial.
Although President Trump had declined to participate in the investigation so far, he will testify if it goes to the Senate. White House Press Secretary Stephani Grisham issued a statement saying, “The President will address these false charges in the Senate and expects to be fully exonerated because he did nothing wrong.”
After hearing that Democrats had released the articles of impeachment, Trump took to Twitter to vent his frustrations with the situation. In one of the tweets, he said:
“To Impeach a President who has proven through results, including producing perhaps the strongest economy in our country’s history, to have one of the most successful presidential administrations ever, and most importantly, who has done NOTHING wrong, is sheer Political Madness!”
We will continue to update you as the impeachment process heads to the Senate.
Copyright 2019, TargetLiberty.org
