President Donald Trump was impeached by the United States House on a single charge of inciting insurrection for his role in a riot by his supporters that left five dead and the Capitol ransacked, leaving an indelible stain on his legacy, with only a week to go. your mandate. .
Wednesday’s historic vote, 232-197, makes Trump the only U.S. president to be impeached twice, just over a year since the first. He was supported by all Democrats and 10 Republicans, including Liz Cheney, the Republican Party’s third leader in the House.
“We know that the president of U.S incited this insurrection, ”said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, before the vote. She called Trump “a clear and present danger for this country that we all love”.
Pelosi will now determine how quickly to send the impeachment article to the Senate for trial. Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell rejected the call by Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to agree to bring the senators back to an emergency session and start the trial before January 20, when Trump leaves office and President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in.
The mayor signed the impeachment article on Wednesday night, but did not say whether he would delay the transmission to the Senate.
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Trump, in a video released by the White House on Wednesday night, denounced the attack on the Capitol and urged Americans to avoid further violence. He did not mention the impeachment vote.
He maintained an iron grip on the Republican Party for most of his four years in office. But his enthusiasm for the furious crowd of supporters who invaded the Capitol on January 6 was too much for some in the Republican Party. Even Republicans who did not vote for impeachment denounced their actions.
McConnell told associates he believes Trump committed an impeachable offense last week when he incited protesters, two people familiar with the matter said. In a note on Wednesday to his Republican colleague, McConnell wrote: “I have not made a final decision on how I am going to vote and I intend to hear the legal arguments when they are presented to the Senate.”
The repercussions were wide-ranging. Leading companies began a torrent of announcements that they would at least temporarily cut contributions to lawmakers who joined Trump in false allegations of electoral fraud and in an attempt to block the November 3 election results. Twitter, which served as Trump’s megaphone to his followers, banned him and he was kicked out of other platforms. His business also suffered damage as the banks that managed his finances and the American golf industry, which brings business to its clubs, withdrew.
Investors, however, ignored procedures in Washington on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 index registering a modest 0.2% advance from 3:31 pm.
Trump possibly suggested running for president again in 2024, but his political future was uncertain. In addition to the political damage he has suffered, Trump may be legally banned from taking federal office again if found guilty. He also faces potential criminal and civil risk for encouraging supporters before the January 6 riot.
Nancy Pelosi lowers the hammer while presiding over President Trump’s impeachment vote on January 13.
Photographer: Saul Loeb / AFP / Getty Images
Just before the House vote, Trump tried again to contain the furor, issuing a statement saying: “There should be NO violence, NO breaking the law and NOT vandalism of any kind”.
“This is not what I stand for and it is not what the United States stands for,” Trump said in the statement. “I appeal to ALL Americans to help ease tensions and calm tempers.”
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Republican Party leader Kevin McCarthy, a staunch ally of Trump, said that impeaching the president in such a short time, without investigation or hearings, would be a mistake.
“Here’s what an impeachment vote would do. This would further divide this nation. An impeachment vote will further fan the flames of the party division, ”said McCarthy, who voted to challenge the two state electoral votes won by Biden, just hours after the crowd enraged by Trump’s defeat invaded the Capitol on 6 January.
McCarthy was among 138 Republicans who followed Trump’s false statements about the election and opposed the counting of votes from the Electoral College in at least one state.
Democrats said there was no doubt that Trump’s public comments last week were a violation of the oath that all lawmakers take to uphold the constitution.
“We told you last time that if we didn’t accuse you, it would happen again. To put it simply, we told you so, ”said Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cedric Richmond in his last remarks on the House floor before joining the Biden government.
Some Democrats expressed doubts about the impeachment that would lead to a Senate trial at the time Biden was starting his term, potentially overshadowing the transfer of power and delaying cabinet nominee confirmations and the first legislative initiatives of the new Democratic government.
While lawmakers met in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the Capitol and surrounding areas in Washington looked like an armed camp. Thousands of National Guard soldiers and other security personnel stood guard and patrolled areas and buildings. Police closed the nearby streets with parked military vehicles and tall metal fences surrounded much of the area.
Kevin McCarthy walks into the House of Representatives at the US Capitol on January 13.
Photographer: Al Drago / Bloomberg
The attack on the Capitol surprised and frightened many lawmakers, motivating Democrats to act quickly. The impeachment process went ahead without hearings, witness statements or investigations. That process lasted for weeks in late 2019, when House Democrats accused Trump of abuse of power and obstruction charges related to allegations that he pressured Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son Hunter.
Democrats claimed that there was clear public support for this second impeachment, arguing that much of America had been repelled by what they witnessed on January 6 in the broadcast and other media.
Read more: Ocasio-Cortez says he feared for his life in the attack on the Capitol
Polls show that public opinion about the president has declined as a result of the violence. A Quinnipiac University survey conducted after the invasion of the Capitol revealed that 56% of voters hold Trump accountable. In the same poll, Trump’s approval rating was 33%, down from 44% in a December poll.
The January 6 events began with thousands of Trump supporters gathered in Washington as Congress prepared to certify that Biden won the election. But as Trump and his supporters in Congress continued to dispute the election with false allegations of electoral fraud, the president himself asked his supporters to march to the Capitol and record their opposition to the constitutional process.
The resulting attack was a scene of unprecedented violence and trauma for the country – a United States Capitol policeman 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 within the Chamber of Deputies were under siege.
“In all of this, President Trump has seriously jeopardized the security of U.S and its government institutions ”, states the impeachment article. “Donald John Trump was involved in serious crimes and misdemeanors by inciting violence against the government of U.S. “
The Chamber voted after about three hours of debate on Wednesday. The lawsuit took place in the same chamber where Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were impeached, as was 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 everywhere.)