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WASHINGTON: Donald Trump became the first United States president in history to be indicted twice when the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday (January 13) to charge him with inciting the mob attack on Congress last week.
The 232-197 approval by the Democratic House of Representatives of a single article of impeachment in a landmark vote in the closing days of Trump’s four-year term does not remove him from office.
Rather, he shifts the drama about his political fate to the Senate, which remains in the hands of Trump’s fellow Republicans for now, but will be under Democratic control later this month.
In the end, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s number three in the House, Rep. Liz Cheney.
Locked in the White House, Trump did not have an immediate reaction, but earlier issued a short statement insisting that he opposed violence among his supporters.
“In light of the reports of more demonstrations, I urge that there must be no violence, law breaking or vandalism of any kind. That is not what I stand for,” he said.
“I call on all Americans to help ease tensions and calm down. Thank you.”
Reflecting fear of unrest, armed national guards deployed in the capital and central streets were blocked from traffic.
Guards in full camouflage and assault rifles gathered at the Capitol Building, some of them napping early Wednesday under the ornate historical statues and paintings.
Members of the National Guard rest in the Rotunda of the United States Capitol in Washington DC on January 13, 2021, before the House vote to impeach the President of the United States, Donald Trump. (Photo: AFP / Saul Loeb)
Trump survived a first impeachment trial almost exactly a year ago when the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his office to try to dirty Biden’s family before the election.
This time, his downfall was sparked by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall on January 6, telling them that Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march on Congress and show “strength.”
Amplified by weeks of election conspiracy theories promoted by Trump, the mob stormed the Capitol, fatally wounded a police officer, smashed furniture and forced terrified lawmakers into hiding, disrupting a ceremony to put the legal seal on victory. of Biden.
One protester was shot and killed and three other people died from “medical emergencies”, bringing the death toll to five.
“The President of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, told the House plenary before the vote. “He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation we all love.”
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, will preside over the second ballot in just 13 months to impeach President Donald Trump. (Photo: AFP / Andrew Caballero-Reynolds)
Democratic lawmaker Ilhan Omar called Trump a “tyrant” and said “for us to survive as a functioning democracy, there has to be accountability.”
But Nancy Mace, a newly elected Republican congresswoman, said that while lawmakers “must hold the president accountable” for the violence, the speed of the process “raises big questions about constitutionality.”
The top House Republican, minority leader Kevin McCarthy, said that while Trump deserves to be censured, the hasty impeachment “will further divide this nation.”
McCONNELL OPEN TO ACCUSATION
Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in the corporate world, is fighting to impose his message, much less any kind of resistance.
His refusal to accept any responsibility for the horrific scenes on January 6, including his insistence Tuesday that his speech was “totally appropriate,” has infuriated allies and opponents alike.
US President Donald Trump walks with his supporters in front of the White House on January 12, 2021 in Washington, DC before his departure to Alamo, Texas. (Photo: AFP / Brendan Smialowski)
The main question now is to what extent the former Republican allies in the Senate will become the front man for their party. Last year, Trump was overwhelmingly acquitted after the House challenged him for abuse of office.
Powerful Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has made clear that there is no time before Trump’s departure on January 20 to hold impeachment, given that the Senate is in recess until January 19.
However, he said Wednesday that he was open to the possibility of voting to convict Trump in a trial, which could still take place after Biden takes over.
“I have not made a final decision on how I will vote and I intend to hear the legal arguments when they go before the Senate,” McConnell said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that McConnell is privately signaling that he believes Trump committed imputable crimes.
READ: Vice President Mike Pence rejects the invocation of the 25th Amendment to overthrow Trump
This presents a potentially fatal change in the terrain under Trump’s feet, because it could lead to other Republican senators joining together to condemn Trump with the aim of turning the page on the turbulent relationship between the party and the former reality TV host and mogul. real estate.
US Vice President Mike Pence said he opposed invoking the 25th Amendment, a process that could have led to the impeachment of President Donald Trump before his term ends on January 20, 2021 (Photo: AFP / Mandel Ngan).
Meanwhile, Trump’s increasingly toothless social media woes deepened Tuesday night when video-sharing giant YouTube said it would suspend its official account for at least a week, fearing its videos could incite violence.
He’s also being shut out of the corporate world, threatening his financial future once he leaves the White House.
The latest blow to the Trump empire came when the mayor of his native New York, Bill de Blasio, announced Wednesday the termination of contracts to manage a golf course, two ice skating rinks and a carousel in Central Park.
“New York City does not do business with insurgents,” tweeted De Blasio, a Democrat.
