Impeachment Articles Charge 'Incitement of Insurrection'

They may be introduced as soon as Monday
By Luke Roney,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 9, 2021 10:29 AM CST
Impeachment Articles Charge 'Incitement of Insurrection'
President Donald Trump speaks to his supporters shortly before a mob stormed the US Capitol.   (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Impeachment, Part II, may be coming to the US House of Representatives as early as Monday. A four-page impeachment resolution drafted by a group of House Democrats charges President Trump with “incitement of insurrection,” for “willfully inciting violence against the government of the United States” after a mob of his supporters stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday per Fox News. As of Friday evening, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not made a final decision on whether to pursue impeachment, the New York Times reports. However, she did tell the House Rules Committee to be ready to proceed with impeachment or with creating a nonpartisan panel of experts to consult with Vice President Pence regarding Trump’s fitness to finish out his term. “He’s unhinged,” Pelosi reportedly said of the Trump in a call with House Democrats. The impeachment resolution calls for removing Trump from office and barring him from ever running again.

With fewer than two weeks left in the president’s term, impeachment can be logistically challenging. Even if the House votes in favor of the resolution next week, the Senate does not reconvene for business until Jan. 19—the day before Trump’s term ends, the Washington Post reports (the Senate has two pro forma sessions before that, but acting on articles of impeachment during those would require the unlikely consent of all 100 senators). A “Senate trial would therefore begin after President Trump’s term has expired,” outgoing Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a memo outlining how a trial may work. While some Republican members of Congress have said they support Trump’s removal, others have said impeachment is nonstarter. A move to impeach “will only divide our country more,” House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said in a statement. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt tells CNN: Impeachment is “not going to happen. There’s not the time to do it.” If it does happen, Trump will be the only president to be twice impeached. (More Trump impeachment stories.)

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