WASHINGTON - The House of Representatives
began debate on Wednesday in what one lawmaker called a
"democracy-defining moment" ahead of historic votes on two
charges against President Donald Trump accusing him of abusing
his power and obstructing Congress that would make him only the
third U.S. president to be impeached.
The votes in the Democratic-controlled House are expected to
fall almost entirely along party lines, underscoring the deep
divide in Congress over the Republican president's conduct and
the larger political schism within the United States.
Impeachment is an extraordinary check on presidential power
spelled out in the U.S. Constitution enabling Congress to remove
presidents who commit "high crimes and misdemeanors."
The vote, expected in the early evening, would set the stage
for a trial expected next month in the U.S. Senate on whether to
convict Trump and remove him from office. While the House twice
previously has voted to impeach presidents - Bill Clinton in
1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868 - no president has ever been
removed from office via impeachment.
The Senate is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans, who
have shown little interest in ousting him. During the trial,
House members would act as prosecutors as the senators as
jurors.
House Democrats accuse Trump of abusing his power by asking
Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president
and a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to face
Trump in the November 2020 election. Trump is also accused of
obstructing the House investigation by directing administration
officials and agencies not to comply with subpoenas for
testimony and documents related to impeachment.
Republicans signaled as soon as the session began that they
intend to do everything possible to stall the proceedings,
calling for the House to adjourn immediately after the morning
prayer and pledge of allegiance, then presenting a motion
accusing senior Democrats of violating House rules. Republicans
lost votes on both issues on the House floor.
But the Republican maneuvers meant that the debate on the
rule for the impeachment resolutions to be voted upon later in
the day began about an hour later than scheduled.
"This is a democracy-defining moment. History will judge us
by whether we keep intact that fragile republic handed down to
us by our forebears over 200 years ago - or whether we allow it
to be changed forever," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern,
chairman of the House Rules Committee, said on the House floor.
Representative Tom Cole, that committee's top Republican,
countered, "Today after a truncated investigation that denied
the president due process, cherry-picked evidence and witness
testimony to fit their narrative, and trampled on Republicans’
minority rights, Democrats in the House are pressing forward
with a partisan impeachment vote."
Denying wrongdoing, Trump, 73, has called the impeachment
process "a total sham," and on Tuesday sent House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi a letter in which he accused her of engaging in a
"perversion of justice" and an "attempted coup." The
businessman-turned-politician argued that Democrats are trying
to undo the results of the 2016 election in which he defeated
Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the
Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A
terrible thing," Trump wrote on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
"Say a prayer!"
With Trump seeking a second four-year term next year,
impeachment has cleaved the public, with most Democratic voters
supporting it and most Republicans opposed.
What remains unclear is whether the months-long partisan
drama will have any effect on the 2020 election beyond giving
Trump reasons to boast of having beaten back Democratic efforts
to remove him.
Republicans contend that a "yea" vote on impeachment could
cost some moderate House Democrats their seats in next year's
congressional elections. Still, several Democrats who represent
districts whose voters backed Trump in 2016 have said in recent
days they will vote to impeach him.
'PRESIDENT ABUSED HIS POWER'
On the eve of the vote, Pelosi sent a letter on Tuesday to
all 232 Democratic members of the House, urging them to abide by
the Constitution's standards.
"Very sadly, the facts have made clear that the President
abused his power for his own personal, political benefit and
that he obstructed Congress as he demanded that he is above
accountability, above the Constitution and above the American
people," Pelosi wrote.
Fearful of the political blowback, Democrats were long
resistant to an impeachment inquiry, even after Special Counsel
Robert Mueller outlined episodes of Trump seeking to impede his
investigation that documented Russian interference in the 2016
election to boost his candidacy.
But after a whistleblower from the U.S. intelligence
community brought to light a July phone call in which Trump
asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate
Biden, House Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry in
September and moved swiftly to take testimony from current and
former administration officials.
Democrats said Trump held back $391 million in security aid
intended to combat Russia-backed separatists and a coveted White
House meeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as
leverage to coerce Kiev into interfering in the 2020 election by
smearing Biden.
On the July 25 telephone call, Trump asked Zelenskiy to
investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden as well as a
discredited theory promoted by the president and beneficial to
Russia that Democrats conspired with Ukraine to meddle in the
2016 election. Hunter Biden had joined the board of Ukrainian
energy company Burisma while his father was U.S. vice president.
Trump has accused the Bidens of corruption without offering
evidence. They have denied wrongdoing.
The Senate has yet to set its procedures for a trial on the
charges, which would be overseen by U.S. Chief Justice John
Roberts.
The chamber's top Republican, Majority Leader Mitch
McConnell, has rejected Democratic proposals to call further
administration officials to testify and has said there is "no
chance" Trump will be removed from office.
Removing Trump from office would require a two-thirds
majority of those present and voting in the 100-member Senate,
meaning Democrats would have to persuade at least 20 Republicans
to join them to end Trump's presidency.
Reuters