Following the House's 232-197 vote to impeach Donald Trump (again), this time for inciting an insurrection, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke at the engrossment ceremony during which the articles were signed. Trump has now officially made history as the most impeached president and for having gained the most votes for impeachment from members of his own party. Congratulations, Donald. You’re singular.
“Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United State,” Pelosi said. ”Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country,” Pelosi said, adding she was signing the resolution “sadly, with heart broken.”
Senate Majority Leader (for the next week or so) Mitch McConnell declined to agree to bring the Senate back early to begin Trump's trial. “Even if the Senate process were to begin this week and move promptly, no final verdict would be reached until after President Trump had left office,“ he said. “This is not a decision I am making; it is a fact.“ It is absolutely a decision he is making. It is within his power, along with incoming Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, to do so. Schumer pointed that out in his statement. “A Senate trial can begin immediately, with agreement from the current Senate Majority Leader to reconvene the Senate for an emergency session, or it will begin after January 19th," Schumer said. "But make no mistake, there will be an impeachment trial in the United States Senate; there will be a vote on convicting the president for high crimes and misdemeanors; and if the president is convicted, there will be a vote on barring him from running again."
"The president of the United States incited a violent mob against the duly elected government of the United States in a vicious, depraved and desperate attempt to remain in power," Schumer continued. "For the sake of our democracy, it cannot and must not be tolerated, excused, or go unpunished."
Donald Trump has always been obsessed with his place in history. It’s now cemented: no other occupant of the Oval Office achieved the distinction of being impeached twice for high crimes and misdemeanors. The vote was 232-197. Ten Republicans joined Democrats in making this historic action bipartisan.
The articles brought against him read, in part:
On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. [...] Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, DC. There, he reiterated false claims that "we won this election, and we won it by a landslide''. He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged—and foreseeably resulted in—lawless action at the Capitol, such as: "if you don't fight like hell you're not going to have a country anymore''. […]
In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of Government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coequal branch of Government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.
Wherefore, Donald John Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law. Donald John Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.
Newly elected Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri came into office on the mandate that she is fighting for Black lives. She has been very clear that she intends to do everything in her power to help save the lives of millions of Americans mistreated by a racist and unequal justice system. Bush is also very aware that there is a history of white supremacy in our country that is deeply embedded in the institution she is now hoping to reform. Bush, like every Black person who has risen into a politically powerful position before her, is now faced with the tangible political and physical violence that always accompanies the threat she poses to white supremacists and their anxieties.
On Wednesday, in a room filled with Republican white supremacists who want to bullshit America into believing they have some claim to the concept of “unity,” Bush delivered a short, powerful, and pitch perfect reason why she would be voting to impeach Donald Trump. This will be the second time Donald Trump is impeached during his presidency, and considering his actions over the last four years, the only surprising thing is that Donald Trump will have only been impeached twice.
This is the entire 30-second speech Bush gave. One might consider it the Gettysburg Address of impeachment speeches:
Madam Speaker, St. Louis and I we rise in support of the article of impeachment against Donald J Trump. If we fail to remove a white supremacist president who incited a white supremacist insurrection, it’s communities like Missouri’s First District that suffer the most. The 117th Congress must understand that we have a mandate to legislate in defense of Black lives. The first step in that process is to root out white supremacy starting with impeaching the white supremacist in chief. Thank you and I yield back.
Fin.
Rep. Bush’s speech was cheered by Democratic representatives in the chamber and booed by … some others.
Fin, part deux.
Nancy Pelosi was asked in a recent interview why Democrats insisted on pushing for another impeachment of President Donald Trump, and the House Speaker she acknowledged that her motivation to prevent Trump from running again.
In a recent interview with “60 Minutes,” CBS News reporter Lesley Stahl asked Pelosi if, “after all of this, there’s no punishment, no consequence, and he could run again for president.”
Pelosi admitted, “That’s one of the motivations that people have for advocating for impeachment.”
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich seized on the comment as the real reason behind the Democrats’ lightning quick attempt to impeach President Trump for a second time.
The will of the American people has to be subordinate to the will of Pelosi. Trump has to be impeached to stop him from running again. Pelosi fears the American people might pick him if they were allowed to. What a formula for expressing Washington’s contempt for the people.
— Newt Gingrich (@newtgingrich) January 12, 2021
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“The will of the American people has to be subordinate to the will of Pelosi,” Gingrich wrote on Twitter.
“Trump has to be impeached to stop him from running again,” Gingrich continued. “Pelosi fears the American people might pick him if they were allowed to.”
“What a formula for expressing Washington’s contempt for the people,” he finished.
They aren’t impeaching Trump again as a punishment. They’re doing it to send a message to anyone else outside the club who might get the idea they can run for president ever again.
— Jack Posobiec
(@JackPosobiec) January 13, 2021
The Democrats voted Wednesday on an article of impeachment that charged Trump with inciting citizens to create an insurrection on Capitol Hill.
The House Democrats article of impeachment read, “Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.”
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government,” it continued. “He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
Wednesday’s attack on our democracy was intended to scare us away from carrying out our duties as the people’s representatives.
We will not let them succeed. We are committed to our work #ForThePeople. @60Minutes pic.twitter.com/1rq8YFnJnl
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 12, 2021
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Rasmussen’s Daily Presidential Tracking Poll shows President Trump’s approval stands at 48% as of the Monday after the violence at the Capitol.
Further, pollster Frank Luntz released results Monday that show 91% of Republicans would vote for President Trump if the election were held right now.
Despite their criticism of his conduct since November 3rd and last week, 𝟵𝟭% of Trump voters say they’d still vote for him if another presidential election were held today. pic.twitter.com/Gi4uEwJcVu
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) January 11, 2021
The fact remains that President Trump is very popular among Republicans and his supporters, and that support likely isn’t going to go away any time soon.
The post Gingrich: Pelosi Impeachment Push Is Because She’s Scared Trump Might Run Again – And Win appeared first on The Political Insider.
