Democrats to impeach Trump
IMPEACHMENT charges are being filed against Donald Trump over alleged abuse of power.
House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi said the President left them with “no choice but to act”, adding: “Our democracy is at stake.”
She said yesterday his dealings with Ukraine were “uncontested”.
She added: “The President abused his power for his own personal, political benefit at the risk of US national security.”
And referring to the nation’s Founding Fathers, Mrs Pelosi said: “Governor Morris feared that a president may be bribed by a greater interest to betray his trust.
“He emphasised that this magistrate is not a king. The people are the king. They, therefore, created a constitutional remedy to protect against a dangerous or corrupt leader – impeachment. In America, no one is above the law.”
Once the articles of impeachment have been drafted, the House will vote on whether to go to trial.
Bullish
Mrs Pelosi’s announcement came just a day after three scholars giving evidence during a House Judiciary Committee inquiry claimed the President committed impeachable offences.
A Republican witness had told the same hearing that impeachment was not warranted. Mr Trump is accused of threatening to withhold military aid to Ukraine unless it received assurances it would probe political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
The Bidens worked in Kiev and Hunter was part of Burisma Holdings, Ukraine’s largest private oil and gas producer, earning £40,000 a month.
Mr Trump claims he was appointed because of his father, who was then the US Vice President.
Shortly before Mrs Pelosi’s announcement, the bullish President taunted the Democrats by urging them to speed up efforts to bring him to trial.
He said: “They have no impeachment case and are demeaning our country. But nothing matters to them, they have gone crazy. Therefore I say, if you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial and our country can get back to business.” Earlier this week, the Democrats released a 300-page report on Mr Trump’s conduct.
They claimed the probe “uncovered a months-long effort to use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election”.
But in a separate report, the Republicans claimed that Mr Trump had done nothing wrong.