The White House rebuked the House Judiciary Committee after they passed two articles to impeach President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The vote, which went down party lines, was only the fourth of its kind taken by the committee. It sends the articles to the House floor for a vote, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said will take place next week.
“This desperate charade of an impeachment inquiry in the House Judiciary Committee has reached its shameful end. The president looks forward to receiving in the Senate the fair treatment and due process which continues to be disgracefully denied to him by the House,” White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement.
The two articles, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, accuse Trump of withholding security aid from Ukraine in an effort to exert pressure, forcing government officials to investigate Democratic actions to undermine Trump’s 2016 campaign and to investigate corruption allegations against Joe Biden, who is one of Trump’s top political rivals, and his son Hunter Biden.
The president has repeatedly railed against the House’s investigation, decrying it as unfair. Many of the witnesses Republicans wanted to call, including the younger Biden, were not called to testify. Republicans in the Senate are expected to either dismiss the charges or acquit Trump after the trial.
