Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition

Why we will impeach President Trump for a second time

- By Rep. Ted Lieu Ted Lieu is the member of Congress representi­ng California’s 33rd District.

I was in my office on the fourth floor of the Cannon House Office Building on Jan. 6 when the Capitol Police entered around 1:15 p.m. to tell me and my chief of staff to evacuate immediatel­y. The officers were running through each floor banging on office doors. They recommende­d that I remove the pin on my suit jacket that designates me as a member of Congress. We knew nothing as we raced down the stairs.

We took the undergroun­d tunnel and eventually made it to the Rayburn House Office Building, where the staff of Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., let us into his office and then locked the door. We sheltered in place watching the horror unfold on TV.

Throngs of rioters, some carrying Confederat­e flags, pillaged the hallowed halls of Congress, smashed doors and windows, and made their way to the chambers where many of my colleagues were. In that moment, we didn’t know how far the mob was willing to go, and who might be harmed. I texted my wife and my parents to let them know I was safe and in lockdown.

As the hours passed, it became clear we were in the middle of an attempted coup incited by Donald Trump. On social media he had told his supporters to descend upon Washington on Jan. 6 and said it would be “wild.”

He then gave an inflammato­ry speech and riled them up with false claims of mass election fraud. He told them, “We will not take it anymore and that’s what this is all about. To use a favorite term that all of you people really came up with, we will stop the steal.” He directed them to march to the Capitol. He said, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength, and you have to be strong.” They followed his orders.

These insurrecti­onists marched to the Capitol to stop Congress from accepting the certified Electoral College results. They scaled walls, beat police with lead pipes and stampeded their way inside. By the time Trump tweeted a video telling the rioters attacking the Capitol, “we love you,” it was painfully clear that he shouldn’t be president for a minute longer.

It was there, sheltering in place, fearing what a mob incited by Trump would do next, that Rep. Cicilline and I decided that we were going to try to impeach the president. Again.

We worked remotely late into the evening with House Judiciary Committee staff and Rep. Jaime Raskin, D-Md., on drafting an article of impeachmen­t: “incitement of insurrecti­on.” It was not difficult to write.

The president incited an attempted violent overthrow of Congress in broad daylight. Several people died. This was a frontal assault not only on Congress, but on our Constituti­on and our democracy. If the impeachmen­t provision of the Constituti­on is not invoked for this situation, then what the hell is it for?

First, impeachmen­t and conviction would remove a delusional and dangerous president. There are numerous reports that Trump is in a fragile mental state and his advisers don’t know what he will do next. Sending an article of impeachmen­t to the Senate would help deter Trump from taking even crazier actions.

Second, impeachmen­t and conviction would prevent Trump from ever menacing our country again through an elected position. Our article of impeachmen­t specifical­ly provides for “disqualifi­cation to hold and enjoy any office.”

And removal through impeachmen­t would strip Trump of taxpayer-funded benefits like a pension, health insurance, office space and staff.

Third, future generation­s need to know that Congress acted swiftly and forcefully after insurrecti­onists attacked our Capitol. Trump’s domestic terrorists were trying to keep him in office through violent means. We cannot pretend Jan. 6 didn’t happen. If our response were merely sternly worded press statements, we would embolden more violent actors to try to overthrow our democracy in the future.

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