Before now, ex-President Andrew Johnson and ex-President Bill Clinton were the only two presidents in United States history to be impeached. But that changed when the House voted for President Donald J. Trump to be impeached next.
Since Trump began campaigning, he has always been an extremely polarizing figure. Those who voted for him passionately worship him. And those that didn’t, view his presidency as a regression. Despite his impeachment being a democratic victory, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi tried to treat the business of his impeachment formally. Many across the country are excited with this news (whether it be in a good or a bad way). However, Pelosi and her colleagues shared the following message after they passed the impeachment:
“We have tried to do everything we can to make sure our children live in a democracy’.
December 18th, 2019 will forever be a historic day in the United States of America. Now all that stands between Trump staying or being removed from the White House is the Senate.
The Charges Leading Up to the Impeachment
There are a multitude of accusations and investigations leading up to Donald Trump’s impeachment. The main charges of him are for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. According to the New York Times he was accused of “corruptly using the levers of government to solicit election assistance from Ukraine in the form of investigations to discredit his Democratic political rivals.” His impeachment was deemed an urgent issue as many Democrats and civilians spoke out against his character and unprincipled leadership.
“The president and his men plot on. The danger persists. The risk is real. Our democracy is at peril.”
Adam B. Schiff, Democrat Representative of California and Intelligence Committee chairman
The charges against Trump don’t just end there. Trump was also allegedly withholding tax money, not cooperating with investigations, paying off his sexual assault victims, profiting from his presidency, and facilitating a foreign investigation into Barack Obama’s Vice President Joe Biden and his son. While the inquiry was being conducted, many Republicans too called out the process and offered benign excuses for Trump’s conduct.
CNN notes, that unlike Bill Clinton before he was impeached, Trump does not see his actions as wrong. Trump is confident that he has done nothing wrong at all and will not find fault with himself. Instead of accepting the charges or handling the investigation with dignity, he ranted on twitter about how he was being attacked.
“SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!”
Donald Trump on Twitter
Despite his impeachment, he will continue to remain in office if the Senate does not decide to let him go.
Further Comments on the Investigation
Nancy Pelosi’s colleague Jerrold Nadler had the following sentiment to share after the House passed their impeachment: “When congress began to investigate President Trump’s wrong-doing, he engaged in an unprecedented pattern of obstruction. That too is why the impeachment power exists. A president who subverts both our elections and our constitutional system of checks and balances puts himself above the law. And it is congress’s duty to hold the president- any president- accountable. It gives us no pleasure to stand here today.”
Indeed, many of the House members wore black as if in mourning. And despite cheers from the audience, they managed to keep a straight face during the process to keep things formal.
“Today,” continued Nadler, “we lived up to our responsibility to the American people by taking action to defend our national security, to preserve our democratic elections, and to show that no one- not even the president- is above the law.”
Comments on the Senate Trial
Pelosi’s chairman Adam Schiff followed Nadler in sharing his comments about the investigation, impeachment, and what is to follow:
“The President of the United States should be tried. And the question is now whether Senator McConnell will allow a fair trial in the Senate, whether the majority leader will allow a trial that involves witnesses and testimony and documents. A trial that should be fair to the president, yes, but should be fair, also, to the American people.”
“President Trump not only abused his office but threatens to abuse it again,” Schiff continues, “-threatens to interfere again by inviting foreign interference in our election. The remedy isn’t complete as long as the president is free to continue to invite foreign interference in our affairs.”
It follows that it is quite unlikely that Trump will be removed from the office entirely right now. But he is now forever part of the very exclusive impeachment club.
As Nancy Pelosi claims in her press conference following Trump’s impeachment:
“I have a spring in my step because of the courage of our [members]”.
Perhaps the United States is progressing again.
The Final Call
Of all the impeachment trials this country has seen, Trumps’ was by far the shortest. The final tally for the impeachment trial was 57-43, in support of Trump. But despite that, the consequences of the trial speak volumes. Despite avoiding conviction by thee US Senate, Trump’s reputation has definitely not been the same. Many of his charges had people question the integrity of his leadership, his character, and the government. A majority of the Republicans in the House of Representative and the Senate supported Trump throughout the trial, and this has evoked quite the criticism from civilians.
We can say that Trump’s movement was short-lived. The impeachment trial left quite a big dent on his movement and that can be seen from the riot at the Capitol. Seeing as to what his legacy birthed, people are sure to think twice before deciding to put him back in the office.
“There’s no question that president Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.”
Mitch McConnell
As for future presidencies, he is eligible to run. But we are not so sure his devoted followers feel the same.
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