More than 700 historians call for Trump to be impeached
DESPARDES — Today, the U.S. House of Representatives votes on whether to impeach President Donald Trump, after an investigation found that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine to investigate a political rival. If the House approves the charges—as it is expected to, along party lines—Trump will be just the third president to be impeached in U.S. history.
By Tuesday evening, it was clear that House Democrats would have the votes to support at least one of the two articles of impeachment against Trump. (No Republicans were expected to cross party lines in the full House vote.) If approved, the impeachment trial will go to the Republican-held Senate in January, where a two-thirds vote is needed to convict. Senate leaders are already fighting over how the trial would proceed.
The two articles of impeachment charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday described President Trump as “an ongoing threat to our national security” as she opened up the debate on two articles of impeachment against the leader.
She said the founding fathers’ vision for the United States was “under threat” by White House actions.
“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.
“If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty.”
Democrats say Trump clearly leveraged the power of his office to pressure Ukraine, an ally engaged in a conflict with Russia, to announce a pair of investigations he found desirable, including one of potential 2020 presidential rival Joe Biden. One way Trump applied pressure, they argue, was by withholding nearly $400 million in military aid for Ukraine.
Pelosi was the first to speak Wednesday morning as the House of Representatives began debating two articles of impeachment against Trump.
More than 700 historians call for Trump to be impeached
More than 700 historians have urged the House of Representatives to impeach President Trump, saying his actions are what the framers of the Constitution had in mind as grounds for impeachment.
In a letter published Monday, the group of 752 professional historians said the House should vote to impeach, as Trump’s conduct “constitutes a clear and present danger to the Constitution.”
“It is our considered judgment that if President Trump’s misconduct does not rise to the level of impeachment, then virtually nothing does,” the historians wrote.
The House rules committee on Tuesday set the agenda allowing 6 hours of debate with no amendments for lawmakers to weigh charges that say Trump is a threat to national security because he lobbied a foreign government to interfere in the U.S. electoral process, and then tried to hinder Congress in its subsequent investigation.
