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President Trump impeached in historic vote by sharply divided House
Jon Ward
Jon Ward
Yahoo NewsDecember 19, 2019, 2:35 AM GMT+1
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump became the third sitting president in U.S. history to be impeached, as the House of Representatives approved on Wednesday the two articles of impeachment against him: that he abused the power of his office by pressuring Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 election on his behalf, and that he obstructed Congress in its inquiry.
The House approved the first article of impeachment, on abuse of power, by a vote of 230 to 197 at 8:34 p.m. after a daylong debate. Of the 233 Democrats, 228 voted in favor, along with the House’s one Independent. Two Democrats opposed the measure. No Republicans voted in favor.
Eighteen minutes later, the second article, charging obstruction of Congress, passed by a vote of 229 to 198 with three Democrats voting no, and again no Republicans in favor.
One Democrat voted “present” on each article.
Trump came to the stage for a rally in Battle Creek, Mich., just as the vote was being called and told the crowd, “It doesn’t really feel like we’re being impeached. The country is doing better than ever before. We did nothing wrong. And we have tremendous support in the Republican Party.”
Moments after the second article was approved, Trump called his impeachment “illegal, unconstitutional and partisan.” Democrats, he said, “are declaring their deep hatred and disdain for the American voter.”
Democrats “have branded themselves with an eternal mark of shame,” he said.
Eight hours earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi laid out the Democratic case: “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 that Trump “used the power of his public office to obtain an improper personal, political benefit at the expense of America’s national security.”
The only other two presidents to be impeached in American history are Andrew Johnson, in 1868, and Bill Clinton, in 1998. Both survived their Senate trials and served out their terms. The House began impeachment proceedings against Richard Nixon in 1973, but Nixon resigned before he was impeached.
Trump was scheduled to speak at his rally at around the same time that the House held its final vote on impeachment.
He was awaited by supporters — most of whom stood in line for hours in temperatures that did not rise above the teens — inside the 9,800-seat Kellogg Arena.
During the day, Trump railed against the impeachment on Twitter in the same vein as the six-page, angry letter he sent to Pelosi on Tuesday. In one early morning tweet, he wrote, “I DID NOTHING WRONG!” In a midday tweet, he called his impeachment “AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!”
The proceedings on Capitol Hill were historic, but lacked suspense and drama for much of the day. The outcome unfolded just as most had expected since the day Pelosi announced the opening of an official impeachment inquiry on Sept. 24.
After a prayer by the House chaplain for “wisdom and discernment,” and an hour or so of procedural delay by Republicans, the House chamber was filled all day with short speeches — typically just one minute — by hundreds of representatives, alternating between the two parties.
The chamber was mostly empty for most of the day’s six hours of scheduled debate — which ran to more than eight hours — making what should be the most high-profile moment of the impeachment process the least substantive. It was a striking contrast to the last several weeks of in-depth hearings in which fact witnesses laid out a detailed storyline of the president’s actions.
Democrats kept to a disciplined set of talking points, reiterating that they were reluctant to impeach the president, but his abuse of the power of the presidency left them no choice.
“I want you to know that it does not feel good,” said Rep. Joe Kennedy III, addressing his 60-second floor speech to his two young children. But, he said, the president “broke our laws” and “abused the highest, most sacred office in our land.”
As the debate moved toward a conclusion, Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the majority whip, put his personal stamp on the case for impeachment. “Never in all my years of serving in this great institution that I love,” he said, speaking more deliberately than most of those who went before, “… did I ever expect to encounter such an obvious wrongdoing by a president of the United States. Nor did I expect to witness such a craven rationalization of presidential actions.”
His remarks lowered the tension in the chamber after Republican Whip Steve Scalise accused Democrats of hating the 63 million Americans who voted for Trump, prompting boos from the other side of the aisle.
While Democrats projected a tone of sadness, the mood among Republicans was one of outrage, at times veering toward the apocalyptic.
“This country’s end is now in sight. I hope I don’t live to see it,” said Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas.
Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., described a scene more similar to Dante’s “Inferno” than that of a legislative body. “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,” said Higgins, a former police officer whose colorful past includes filming a video from the Auschwitz death camp to promote U.S. homeland security.
And Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., compared Trump’s impeachment to the trial of Jesus Christ.
“When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president and this process,” Loudermilk said.
Yahoo.com
