House Impeaches Trump For Abuse Of Power & Obstruction Of Congress

ZeroHedge.com

As was 100% expected, the House has voted to impeach President Trump (for abuse of power), who joins Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as the only presidents to be impeached since the adoption of the Constitution in 1788.

It all began just after midday with the following…

 “Today, as speaker of the House, I solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the president of the United States,”  Speaker Nancy Pelosi said from the House floor shortly after noon.

“It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.”

And ended just over eight hours later

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy closes: “He is president today, he’ll be president tomorrow and he will be president when this impeachment over.”

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) closes: “All of us feel a sense of loyalty to party. It’s what makes our two-party system function. But party loyalty must have its limits…it has become increasingly clear that the limits of partisanship have been reached and passed.”

And the result after 219 speakers from both sides of the aisle today, as most expected, all Republicans voted against impeachment, all Democrats except three voted for the first article of impeachment…

Article 1 – Abuse Of Power – vote 230 in favor, 197 opposed, 1 present:

All Republicans voted against impeachment, all Democrats except four voted for the second article of impeachment…

Article 2 – Obstruction – vote:

Tulsi Gabbard voted “present” while New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, who’s in the process of becoming a Republican; and Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, who represents what’s considered the country’s most conservative Democratic district, both broke ranks and voted against impeachment.

…and Michigan Rep. Justin Amash (the sole Independent member of the House) voted for impeachment.

The question now is simple – will Pelosi keep the articles to herself (to avoid the spectacle of utter defeat in the Senate)? Or pass them on for what McConnell has called a quick decision.

What the Constitution says about what happens next

A president who has been impeached by the House can still serve as president. It’s up to the Senate to hold a trial to decide whether to remove him from office. The two other presidents impeached by the House, Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson, were both acquitted by the Senate.

The Constitution only says that the Senate has to hold a trial, with the senators sitting as jurors, House lawmakers serving as prosecutors known as managers and the chief justice of the United States presiding over it. They must take a public vote, and two-thirds of senators present must agree on whether to convict the president and thus remove him from office. But the Constitution doesn’t lay out exactly how to hold a trial.

But, as WaPo reports, a group of House Democrats is pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders to withhold the articles of impeachment against President Trump that are expected to emerge on Wednesday, potentially delaying a Senate trial for months.

The notion of impeaching Trump but holding the articles in the House has gained traction among some on the political left as a way of potentially forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to conduct a trial on more favorable terms for Democrats.

And if no agreement is reached, some have argued, the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denying Trump an expected acquittal.

However, as Byron York noted rather pointedly:

“How do Democrats impeach and withhold when they’ve been telling everybody Trump must be removed right now because he poses an immediate threat to our elections?

Would Dems go straight from pre-emptive impeachment to deferred impeachment?”

And remember, the public is now against impeachment broadly…

Some high/lowlights from the multi-hour debacle include:

Here is what the Democrats believed…Cicilline said if they do not hold Trump accountable, then “we will live in a dictatorship.”

Democrats were, in their own words, “sad” to impeach the president… “I’m saddened, but I’m not shocked,” Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California said.

Serial impeacher Rep. Al Green decided to use a fake, debunked photo of an immigrant child crying as an example of why Trump should be impeached… “In the name of democracy, on behalf of the republic, and for the sake of many who are suffering,” Green said as he pointed directly of the photo, “I will vote to impeach and I encourage my colleagues to do so as well. No one is beyond justice in this country.”

Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert passionately warned that the end of America was in sight… “This is a travesty and we’re in big trouble because Schumer was right… This country’s end is now in sight… I hope I don’t live to see it. This is an outrage.”

And finally, Louisiana Republican Rep. Clay Higgins delivered the darkest, most ominous speech of the day.

“I have descended into the belly of the beast. I have witnessed the terror within, and I rise committed to oppose the insidious forces which threaten our Republic,” Higgins opened.

“America’s being severely injured by this betrayal, by this unjust and weaponized impeachment, brought upon us by the same socialists who threaten unborn life in the womb, who threaten First Amendment rights of Conservatives, who threaten Second Amendment protections of every American patriot, and who have long ago determined that they would organize and conspire to overthrow President Trump.”

“We don’t face this horror because the Democrats have all of a sudden become constitutionalists. We are not being devoured from within because of some surreal assertion of the socialists’ newfound love for the very flag that they trod upon.”

“They are deep established D.C.,” he continued.

“They call this Republican map flyover country. They call us deplorables. They fear our faith. They fear our strength. They fear our unity. They fear our vote, and they fear our president.”

“We will never surrender our nation to career establishment D.C. politicians and bureaucrats,” Higgins closed. “Our republic shall survive this threat from within. American patriots shall prevail.”

Meanwhile, in Michigan…

Continue reading at: https://www.zerohedge.com/political/heres-what-expect-house-prepares-historic-impeachment-vote