Judiciary Committee sends 2 impeachment articles to House floor for vote
The House Judiciary Committee has voted in favor of bringing two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, sending the articles to the full House of Representatives.
In a vote of 23 to 17 taken Friday morning and decided along party lines, the impeachment articles accuse the president of abuse of power and obstructing Congress.
The two articles of impeachment will be voted on by the full House, most likely next Wednesday, according to NBC News.
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The committee's vote came after a 14-hour meeting on Thursday that was initially supposed to conclude with the vote that was taken on Friday morning.
Trump denounced the result of the committee vote, tweeting: “How do you get Impeached when you have done NOTHING wrong (a perfect call), have created the best economy in the history of our Country, rebuilt our Military, fixed the V.A. (Choice!), cut Taxes & Regs, protected your 2nd A, created Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, and soooo much more? Crazy!”
Also known as House Resolution 755, the articles of impeachment were officially introduced on Dec. 10 by Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y.
At issue is the accusation that Trump used his office as president to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden when he asked him to look into the country's meddling in the 2016 election, and later discussed Biden and his son, Hunter's dealings in Ukraine. The rough transcript of Trump and Zelensky's conversation can be read here.
House Democrats argue that Trump seeking foreign interference in the 2020 presidential election, as Biden is a favorite to become the Democratic presidential nominee.
“President Trump also sought to pressure the government of Ukraine to take these steps by conditioning official United States government acts of significant value to Ukraine on its public announcement of the investigations,” HR 755 states.
“President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”
The resolution also accuses Trump of obstructing Congress in its investigation into the phone call with Zelensky and whether it constituted an unlawful “quid pro quo.”
“In response, without lawful cause or excuse, President Trump directed Executive Branch agencies, offices, and officials not to comply with those subpoenas,” continued the resolution.
“Trump sought to arrogate to himself the right to determine the propriety, scope, and nature of an impeachment inquiry into his own conduct, as well as the unilateral prerogative to deny any and all information to the House of Representatives in the exercise of its ‘sole power of impeachment.’”
In both official statements and comments to social media, Trump and his supporters have said that the impeachment process has been politically-motivated and lacks solid proof.
To pass the House, the impeachment articles require a simple majority. If approved, the Senate will oversee the trial, with the Chief Justice presiding, and passage will require a two-thirds majority.
