Donald Trump has been impeached!
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For only the 3rd time in America’s 243 year history, the House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to formally impeach a sitting US president. Donald J. Trump now joins the infamous club of Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as impeached Commanders-In-Chief.
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In a vote of 230-197 to charge Trump with abuse of power and 229-198 to charge him with obstruction of Congress, Democrats agreed along party lines that Donald Trump engaged in “high crimes and misdemeanors” in connection with a Ukraine pressure campaign to dig up dirt against potential political opponent Joe Biden. Their historic vote came after a night where pro-impeachment rallies popped up in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, and other major cities across the US.
Donald Trump held his own rally in Michigan just as the House vote to impeach was announced. As expected, he stayed true to his predictable playbook to save face and make himself out as the victor.
“We didn’t lose one Republican vote, and three Democrats voted for us,” Trump boasted amid howls of approval from the raucous crowd. “The Republican Party has never been so united as they are right now. Never. Never.”
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Trump then segued into the role of the victim.
“I’m not worried. I’m not worried. Because, it’s always good,” he said. “But you don’t do anything wrong and you get impeached. That may be a record that will last forever. But you know what they have done? They have cheapened the impeachment process.”
For their part, Democrats were deeply unified and at peace with their vote.
“This impeachment is permanent. It will follow him around for the rest of his life and history books will record it. And the people will know why we impeached. It’s all very simple. No one is above the law,” said Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California.
“This is a solemn moment for our country. But in the United States of America, no one is above the law — not even the President,” tweeted former Vice-President Joe Biden.
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President Trump abused his power, violated his oath of office, and betrayed our nation. This is a solemn moment for our country. But in the United States of America, no one is above the law — not even the President.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 19, 2019
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“Our founder’s vision of a republic is under threat from actions from the White House,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said somberly, adding, “If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice.”
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So, now that Donald Trump has been impeached, what happens next?
“I’m not an impartial juror.” – Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell
A formal impeachment by the House of Representatives does not mean Trump is automatically removed from office. Customarily, the House would now send the case to the US Senate and allow a trial to take place with Senators serving as jurors.
However, that may not be happening anytime soon.
“This thing will come to the Senate, and it will die quickly, and I will do everything I can to make it die quickly. I am trying to give a pretty clear signal I have made up my mind. I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here.” – Sen. Lindsay Graham
After Republican Senators openly admitted that they had no intention of conducting a fair trial in the Senate and intended to protect Trump at all cost, Speaker Pelosi gave a sneak peek into the trick move she’s been holding up her sleeve.
Since no law exists mandating Pelosi to send the House impeachment vote over to the Senate right away, she is strongly considering withholding the articles until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell agrees to procedures for the trial and agrees to bring in those witnesses Donald Trump has actively blocked from testifying, including acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney (among others).
“We cannot name managers until we see what the process is on the Senate side, and we hope that will be soon,” Pelosi said after declining to name impeachment managers for the Senate trial.
“So far we haven’t seen anything that looks fair to us, so hopefully it will be fair.”
To put it bluntly, Speaker Pelosi is in the enviable and powerful position to simply sit on the successful House impeachment vote for a while and deny Donald Trump the moment before the TV cameras defending himself (in front of his Republican protectors) that he so desperately craves. In fact, Pelosi could legally ride the impeachment vote all the way into the 2020 presidential election (if she so chooses) and use it as political fodder to defeat Donald Trump.
If the GOP-led Senate continues to boast that they will not conduct a fair trial, Pelosi is in position to force Republicans to play by the rules or else she can sit on the Trump impeachment and oust him via a bit of political “oneupmanship” next November.
Stay tuned…
I have a few thoughts on this historic occasion and I’ll start with this……… Watching Speaker Pelosi wield her power in such a responsible, intelligent and brilliant manner is, to me, an incredible sight to behold. Her knowledge, leadership expertise, strength of character and sheer savviness in governing are 2nd to None. Most importantly, when it mattered most, under her leadership the Dems stood for the Constitution, the Rule of Law and the Rights of We, The People. She/the Dems held fast to the vision of the founding fathers. Quotation: “Well, Doctor, what have we got—a Republic or a Monarchy?” “A Republic, if you can keep it.” – Benjamin Franklin (1706–90) The response is attributed to Benjamin Franklin- at the close of the Constitutional Convention of 1787, when queried as he left Independence Hall on the final day of deliberation—in the notes of Dr. James McHenry, one of Maryland’s delegates… Read more »