President Donald Trump is impeached again.

President Donald Trump is impeached again.

A little over a year after Donald Trump was first impeached (open in new tab) for abuse of office and obstruction of Congress, he has now been impeached again, becoming the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.

Following last week's attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, House Democrats introduced a bill to impeach Trump on the grounds of "inciting a riot." And this Wednesday, House lawmakers voted to impeach, with 10 Republicans joining their Democratic colleagues in casting a "yes" vote. However, since the Senate is not currently in session, the subsequent Senate trial will take place after Trump leaves office.

The articles of impeachment state that Trump "incited violence against the government of the United States and engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors" (opens in new tab) when he continued to deny the results of the 2020 presidential election and "made statements that, in context, encouraged outrageous behavior on Capitol Hill and had foreseeable consequences." It goes on to say: "In all of this, President Trump has seriously endangered the security of the United States and its governmental institutions. He has threatened the integrity of our democratic system, obstructed the peaceful transition of power, and endangered the institution of equal government.

Earlier this week, the House of Representatives also voted to ask Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove Trump from power, but Pence has said he will not do so. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (opens in new tab), Vice President Pence wrote, "I do not believe that such action is in the best interest of our country or consistent with our Constitution." Pence continued, "I urge you and all members of Congress to avoid actions that would further divide and inflame the passions of this moment."

During the attack on the Capitol, lawmakers were forced to take shelter in place as the mob violently stormed the building. Rep. Susan Wilde told ELLE.com (opens in new tab) that she began to panic and felt paralyzed as "the doors (of the gallery) were still barricaded and bullets were ricocheting in the chamber." Councilwoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently said on her Instagram (open in new tab) that she had a "very close encounter where I thought I was going to die." Since then, several lawmakers have tested positive for COVID-19 (opens in new tab) after being housed in a secure location with their colleagues, some of whom refused to wear masks.

The same day as the attack, Trump posted a video (opens in new tab) on his Twitter, saying to the mob: "I know your pain, I know you are hurt. We were robbed of an election. It was a landslide election and we all know that, especially on the other side. But you need to go home now. We need peace. We need law and order. And he continued, "So go home. So go home. We love you. You are special."

You may also like

Comments

There is no comments