The House of Representatives in the US has impeached current President Donald Trump for “incitement of insurrection” in relation to the riot’s on Capitol Hill last week.
He is the first president in American history to have been impeached twice.
Trump will now face a trial in the Senate after 221 Democrats voted for impeachment alongside 10 Republicans in a bi partisan effort.
If convicted in the Senate trial, Trump could be faced with being barred from ever holding office again. A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump in the Senate, meaning at least 17 Republicans would have to side with the Democrats.
President Trump was accused by Congress of inciting the storming of the Capitol building after a speech he made to rally outside of the White House on January 6.
Five people died in the storming while the building was placed into lockdown with many Congressmen and women and staff hiding.
The article of impeachment alleges Trump “repeated issued false statements asserting that the presidential election results were fraudulent and should not be accepted.”
It further claimed he “wilfully made statements to the crowd that encouraged and foreseeably resulted in lawless action at the Capitol” which lead to the violence seen inside the building.
“President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government, threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperilled a coequal branch of government.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “The president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country.
“He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.”
However, despite the few Republican supporting votes, the majority of Republicans were not defending Trump, but argued the impeachment has bypassed the customary hearings and had called on the Democrats to dismiss it for the sake of national unity.
Kevin McCarthy, the House’s top Republican said: “Impeaching the president in such a short time frame would be a mistake.
“That doesn’t mean the president’s free from fault. The president bears responsibility for Wednesday’s attack on Congress by mob rioters.”
Feature Image: BBC
Journalism and Politics student// Editor-in-Chief 2021/22
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