Pelosi says House will begin drafting impeachment charges vs. Trump

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that the House of Representatives would begin drafting impeachment articles against President Donald Trump, pushing ahead with a rapid timetable that could set the stage for a vote before Christmas to charge him with high crimes and misdemeanours.

Wrapping her announcement in the words of the Constitution and the nation’s founders, Pelosi said it had become clear over the course of two months of investigation that Trump had violated his oath of office by pressing a foreign power for help in the 2020 election. Allowing Trump to continue in office without remedy, she said, would come at “the peril of our republic.”

“His wrongdoing strikes at the very heart of our Constitution,” Pelosi said in the Capitol. “Our democracy is what is at stake. The president leaves us no choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, Dec. 5, 2019. Pelosi asked the House of Representatives on Thursday to begin drafting impeachment articles against President Donald Trump, pushing ahead with a rapid timetable that could set the stage for a deeply partisan vote before Christmas to charge him with high crimes and misdemeanours. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)

Pelosi’s hastily arranged announcement came a day after the House Judiciary Committee began formal impeachment proceedings against Trump, convening a hearing where three constitutional scholars invited by Democrats said Trump had engaged in conduct that clearly met the definition of impeachable offences under the Constitution.

Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), centre, alongside committee chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), left, delivers his closing remarks during a hearing about the constitutional standards for the impeachment of President Donald Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2019. (Alyssa Schukar/The New York Times)

The decision follows a two-month-long inquiry by Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee that concluded that Trump abused his power by pressuring President Volodymyr Zelenskiy of Ukraine to announce investigations into former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats, while withholding a White House meeting and $391 million in vital military assistance.

“The facts are uncontested,” Pelosi said. “The president abused his power for his own personal political benefit, at the expense of our national security.”

She added: “Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment.”

A video of President Donald Trump is played on a monitor during a House Judiciary Committee about the constitutional standards for the impeachment of the President Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Dec 4, 2019. (Alyssa Schukar/The New York Times)

Before her announcement, Trump seemed to welcome the coming fight, calling Democrats “crazy” in a pair of tweets that urged them to get the process over with quickly so he could defend himself in the Republican-controlled Senate.

“If you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business,” he wrote.

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