Trump is charged with inciting insurrection
All N.Y. Democrats and GOP’S Katko vote against Trump
‘Resolved, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors ... by inciting violence against the government of the United States.’
In the House chamber where some took cover when protesters breached the Capitol, many New York House members voted to impeach President Donald J. Trump for an unprecedented second time, believing that Trump encouraged the violence that threatened them and cost five lives.
All New York Democrats and Republican Rep. John Katko of Syracuse voted to charge Trump with “incitement of insurrection.” Katko was one of 10 Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to impeach Trump.
“To allow the president of the United States to incite this attack without consequence is a direct threat to the future of our democ
racy,” Katko said Tuesday. “For that reason, I cannot sit by without taking action.”
Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik of Schuylerville, Tom Reed of Corning, Lee Zeldin of Shirley, Andrew Garbarino of Sayville, Nicole Malliotakis of Staten Island and Chris Jacobs of Orchard Park voted against impeachment.
“I am vehemently opposed to the snap impeachment of President Trump. It is a partisan ploy with no basis in the Constitution,” Stefanik said. “The Democrats’ decision to impeach the president with one week remaining in his term further fuels the divisions in the country during this very trying time.”
The Saratoga County Democratic Committee issued a statement condemning Stefanik’s position and called her “one of the most divisive representatives” in the country. They said it was not partisan because 10 Republicans broke party lines to vote for impeachment.
The historic House vote came one week after the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol by some Trump supporters and one week before President-elect Joe Biden will be inaugurated. Incensed by Trump’s rhetoric and what they allege were its deadly results, Democrats aim to show such actions are unacceptable and if they can convict him, use impeachment to bar him from holding office again.
“He spent years using his bully pulpit to normalize violence and spread lies and conspiracy, all of which fed into his efforts to undermine the 2020 election and drove a mob to assault the Capitol last week in a siege that left six Americans dead — including two Capitol police officers — and dozens injured, some of them permanently,” Rep. Paul Tonko, D-amsterdam, said. “If inciting deadly violence against a co-equal branch of government in the citadel of our democracy isn’t a removable offense, then nothing is.”
Rep. Antonio Delgado, D -Rhinebeck, said the vote “affirmed” the nation’s democratic principles, “peaceful transition of power; equality under the law; one person, one vote.”
“I’m calling on the Senate to follow our bipartisan example in the House and to act swiftly in order to defend our democracy from ongoing threats,” Delgado said.
Republicans have also condemned the violence and some blame Trump for it, but only a small number backed impeachment because many viewed it to be too divisive for a nation convulsing with anger and misinformation. They also opposed the swift nature of the impeachment with little time for prior investigation or due process for the president — Trump’s first impeachment inquiry took three months.
Speaking on the House floor, Zeldin said there are “two standards” for holding politicians accountable for statements about protests, riots and violence — one for Republicans and one for Democrats.
“House Democrats are here to make President Trump the first president to be impeached twice,” he said. “We all know that this was a pre-planned attack. We all know that there were pipe bombs being discovered while the president was speaking. We all know that the Capitol perimeter was being breached during the president’s speech.”
The impeachment puts a glaring spotlight on Trump as he exits office, shifting attention away from the Biden agenda and possibly cutting into legislative time that could be spent confirming his cabinet and advancing his legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D N.Y., is advocating for a Senate trial to begin right away, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., said with no possibility of concluding a trial before Biden takes office, he will delay the trial and focus the next week on securing a peaceful transfer of power.
Last week, Tonko, Stefanik, and Zeldin were among the House members trapped in the U.S. House of Representatives, as protesters took over the Capitol, and who later had to be evacuated. U.S. Rep. Grace Meng, D-queens, hid in a small room near the House chamber, the door barricaded by furniture.
On the other side of the Capitol, Schumer and U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D -N.Y., were locked inside the Senate and held there until Capitol police created a safe path out.