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“Defend democracy”: Pelosi calls Trump “ongoing threat” in impeachment debate

Washington DC, US
Reuters

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday called Donald Trump an ongoing threat to American democracy who left Congress no choice but to impeach him as bitterly divided lawmakers debated before historic votes on charges accusing the Republican president of abusing his power and obstructing Congress.

With billowing partisan differences on full display, the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives launched a planned six hours of debate on the two articles of impeachment – formal charges – arising from the president’s actions toward Ukraine, with time equally divided between the parties and no amendments.

Impeachment debate opens

Representative Diana Degette, member presiding over the US House of Representatives, pounds the gavel to open the session to discuss rules ahead a vote on two articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington  in a still image from video on 18th December. PICTURE: House TV via REUTERS.

Trump would become only the third US president to be impeached. That would set the stage for a trial in the Republican-led Senate, with House members acting as prosecutors and senators as jurors. Republican senators have shown little interest in convicting Trump, which would result in his ouster. 

On the House floor, Pelosi read the US Pledge of Allegiance, then said, “today we are here to defend democracy for the people,” to applause from fellow Democratic lawmakers.

As the debate unfolded, Trump on Twitter called the proceedings “AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA” and on his party. Trump has denied wrongdoing. 

While the House twice previously has voted to impeach presidents – Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868 – no president has ever been removed from office via impeachment.

Separate votes on the two charges are expected in the early evening. The votes are expected to fall almost entirely along party lines, with Democrats in favour and Republicans opposed. 

In speeches on the House floor, Republicans defended the president and accused Democrats of seeking to use an unfair and rigged process to nullify the results of the 2016 election in which Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. The House voted down a Republican bid to adjourn and a motion accusing Democrats of violating the chamber’s rules. 

“If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary,” Pelosi added.

“He gave us no choice. What we are discussing today is the established fact that the president violated the constitution. It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections – the basis of our democracy,” Pelosi said.

Following Pelosi, Representative Doug Collins, the House Judiciary Committee’s top Republican, said, “This an impeachment based on presumption. This is basically also a poll-tested impeachment on what actually sells to the American people. Today’s going to be a lot of things. What it is not, is fair. What it is not, is about the truth.”

The debate underscored the deep divide in Congress over Trump’s conduct during his tumultuous presidency and the larger political schism dividing the United States.

Republican Representative Mike Rogers said, “The matter before the House today is based solely on a fundamental hatred of our president. It’s a sham, a witch hunt – and it’s tantamount to a coup against the duly elected president of the United States.”

Impeachment Trump

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on 17th December. PICTURE: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

Impeachment is an extraordinary check on presidential power spelled out in the US Constitution enabling Congress to remove presidents who commit “high crimes and misdemeanours.” 

“The founders’ great fear of a rogue or corrupt president is the very reason why they enshrined impeachment in the Constitution,” Pelosi said, calling the gathered lawmakers the “custodians of the Constitution.”

House Democrats accuse Trump of abusing his power by asking Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to face Trump in the November, 2020, election. Trump is also accused of obstructing the House investigation by directing administration officials and agencies not to comply with subpoenas for testimony and documents related to impeachment.

The House vote to approve the rules to formally begin debate was 228 to 197, a possible preview of the later votes on the articles of impeachment, with only two Democrats – Representatives Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew – voting no and no Republicans voting in favour. Van Drew has announced plans to become a Republican. Representative Justin Amash, an independent who left the Republican Party in July, joined the Democrats in the vote.

Vice President Mike Pence, speaking in Michigan, touted the economy under Trump and called the House proceedings “a disgrace.”

“They are trying to impeach this president because they know they can’t defeat this president” in 2020, Pence said.

But House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said on the House floor, “We cannot rely on the next election as a remedy for presidential misconduct when the president threatens the very integrity of that election. He has shown he will continue to put his selfish interests above the good of the country. We must act without delay.”

Trump, 73, on Tuesday sent Pelosi a letter in which he accused her of engaging in a “perversion of justice” and an “attempted coup.” The businessman-turned-politician argued that Democrats are trying to undo the results of the 2016 election in which he defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. 

“Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible thing,” Trump wrote on Twitter before the debate. “Say a prayer!” He later added a Twitter post attacking Pelosi, writing, “Will go down in history as worst Speaker.”

Fearful of political blowback, senior Democrats long resisted an impeachment inquiry, even after Special Counsel Robert Mueller outlined episodes of Trump seeking to impede the federal investigation that documented Russian interference in the 2016 election to boost his candidacy.

But after a whistleblower from the US intelligence community brought to light a 25th July phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Biden, House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry in September and moved swiftly to take testimony from current and former administration officials.

Impeachment Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, is followed by members of the news media inside Statuary Hall prior to votes in the US House of Representatives on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, on 18th December. PICTURE: Reuters/Tom Brenner

Democrats said Trump held back $US391 million in security aid intended to combat Russia-backed separatists and a coveted White House meeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as leverage to coerce Kiev into interfering in the 2020 election by smearing Biden.

On the July telephone call, Trump asked Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden as well as a discredited theory promoted by the president and beneficial to Russia that Democrats conspired with Ukraine to meddle in the 2016 election. Hunter Biden had joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father was vice president. Trump has accused the Bidens of corruption without offering evidence. They have denied wrongdoing.

The Senate has yet to set its procedures for a trial on the charges, which would be overseen by US Chief Justice John Roberts. Removing Trump from office would require a two-thirds majority of those present and voting in the 100-member Senate, meaning at least 20 Republicans would have to vote to convict the president.

– Additional reporting by SUSAN CORNWELL, RICHARD COWAN, SUSAN HEAVEY and LISA LAMBERT

 

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