House Democrats are moving quickly toward impeaching President Donald Trump as early next week, a reflection of the seething outrage that remains over his incitement of deadly riots inside the U.S. Capitol. Timing remains in flux and Speaker Nancy Pelosi has yet to make a decision on exactly how to proceed, including whether to pursue a constitutional process that could remove Trump without impeachment. Top Democrats are still in talks with all their members and will hold a caucus-wide call at noon. But they are expected to decide today on their next steps, according to several lawmakers and aides. Even if the House does impeach Trump, it's far from clear the GOP-controlled Senate would act before his presidency runs out in 12 days. Rep. Katherine Clark, the assistant House speaker, predicted Friday that the full chamber could vote by the middle of next week. Other Democrats said it could happen sooner. “Donald Trump needs to be removed from office, and we are going to proceed with every tool that we have to make sure that that happens to protect our democracy,” Clark (D-Mass.) told CNN. After treading cautiously before impeaching Trump in 2019 over his pressure campaign against Ukraine, Democrats are moving rapidly in the waning days of Trump’s presidency — fueled by a fiery anger over Trump’s role in the deadly assault on the Capitol that left one U.S. Capitol Police officer and four others dead, and forced hundreds of lawmakers to flee from violence while insurrectionists occupied their offices and both chambers of Congress. Pelosi herself — who watched rioters invade her office, use her computer and take selfies in her chair — is irate, calling Trump’s conduct an act of “treason” in a call with her leadership team on Thursday night. She and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called on Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump and said if he did not act, they would move to impeach. Two sets of articles of impeachment have already been drafted, and Democratic leaders have coalesced behind those led by Rep. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee. That proposal says Trump deserves removal — and would permanently bar him from public office — for “willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States.” The resolution also accuses Trump of improperly pressuring Georgia’s secretary of state to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory on false pretenses. One focus for Cicilline and other top Democrats in the coming days will be recruiting House Republicans to buck their party and their president on the floor. Democrats believe the GOP will have at least one defection: Rep. Adam Kinzinger (D-Ill.), who became the first House Republican to call for Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment. Moderate Democrats — which are a critical faction in Pelosi’s caucus, particularly with the much tighter margins this Congress — privately say they still prefer an approach centered on the 25th Amendment. But it’s unlikely they would block a path to impeachment, if that is what Pelosi chooses, according to several sources familiar with their thinking. One issue for Pelosi: her majority is much smaller than when the House impeached Trump in December 2019. Back then, an intense effort to unify the caucus led to only two defections. Some Democrats are also wary of impeaching Trump — just days after spasms of violence rocked the Capitol — amid an uncertain security environment, particularly as authorities are preparing to secure Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration. House Democrats have extremely limited time to launch the proceedings against the president, if they intend to remove him before his term expires. Democrats have discussed ways to further fast track the process, including bringing impeachment articles directly to the floor. Though it typically runs through the House Judiciary Committee, the panel has not yet been formally organized and its chairman, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), along with other key members, say the impeachment articles will need to go straight to the House floor. If Democrats pass articles early next week — and Pelosi immediately sent them to the Senate — the Senate would be required to begin a trial immediately under congressional rules. Trump’s first impeachment trial, on charges he abused his power and obstructed a congressional investigation, ultimately lasted four weeks before the Senate delivered its verdict. That timetable suggests the goal of any impeachment is unlikely to be Trump’s removal and is much more focused on the option to prevent him from holding federal office in the future. Some Democrats believe that possibility could woo Senate Republicans, some of whom are eyeing a 2024 bid themselves. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said Friday that he would consider Trump’s removal depending on how it plays out in the House. "The House, if they come together and have a process, I will definitely consider whatever articles they might move,” Sasse said in an interview with “CBS This Morning” on Friday. "What he did was wicked.” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), another potential White House aspirant who opposed Trump's effort to challenge Biden's electoral votes, declined to comment to reporters in the Capitol Friday. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's office also declined to comment. Top Democrats are still discussing the 25th Amendment path, though it became far less likely after Pence rejected calls to remove Trump from power with the support of him and the Cabinet. Democrats could still choose to pursue a bill from Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), which would create an outside commission to recommend Trump’s removal, possibly including former presidents. Other Democrats, though, have said that approach would fail because Pence would still need to agree to the panel’s findings in order to remove Trump. Scores of congressional Democrats — as well as numerous former federal officials, some governors and at least two Republican House members — have all called for Trump’s immediate removal from office, either by impeachment or the Cabinet’s invocation of the 25th Amendment. Dozens of those House Democrats sent a letter to Pelosi, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn on Wednesday urging them not to take the House's scheduled recess next week. “We are the only branch of government that is capable of governing this country and led by sane and competent people,” the letter, which was led by Rep. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), reads. “Going home and staying home until the eve of President Biden’s inauguration should not be an option.” Burgess Everett and Quint Forgey contributed to this report.
There will be a wall dedicated to it in the Trump trailer park presidential library. Florida man still pitching trailer park as site of future Trump presidential library https://nypost.com/2020/11/21/florida-man-still-wants-trump-presidential-library-in-trailer-park/
I would have preferred a concurrent invocation of the 25th Amendment as well; it would have made it a trifecta. But this will do.
I'd say the risk / reward is pretty horrific.. You gain nothing and risk looking petty as hell and losing more seats in two years. And congratulations u just made Donald Trump a martyr typical dems, dumb as fuck.
Well ya know, busting into the capitol when you don't have the support of either a majority of the public, or the military (to make it a real coup), aint too swift either. "But it was done on principle," you object. That's right, and there you go.
In two years the house will be republican and multiple impeachments will begin against Biden for anything Impeachment has become a political tool