House Democrats have launched a new effort to impeach President Trump, circulating articles of impeachment a day after thousands of his supporters overwhelmed the Capitol.
“I am circulating Articles of Impeachment that @RepTedLieu, @RepRaskin and I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol,” Rep. David Cicilline announced on Twitter.
NEW: I am circulating Articles of Impeachment that @RepTedLieu, @RepRaskin and I have prepared to remove the President from office following yesterday’s attack on the U.S. Capitol. pic.twitter.com/b92GL9Ap33
— David Cicilline (@davidcicilline) January 7, 2021
Cicilline’s tweet included photos of the articles, which state that Trump “incited” a mob that “unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel, menaced Member of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.”
The articles continue: “In all of this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government.”
The document concludes by accusing Trump of being a “threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.”
The effort to impeach Trump comes after other lawmakers have called on Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment.
“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement.
“The quickest and most effective way — it can be done today — to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th Amendment,” Schumer continued. “If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president.”
The call to invoke the 25th Amendment picked up bipartisan support, with Rep. Adam Kinzinger indicating his support to remove the president from office.
“It’s time to invoke the 25th Amendment and end this nightmare,” the Illinois Republican said. “The president is unfit, and the president is unwell.”
