Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump Unveiled

House Democrats are moving forward with plans to unveil two articles of impeachment against [...]

By Libby Birk

House Democrats are moving forward with plans to unveil two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, marking just the fourth time in U.S. history that Congress has used its most powerful tool under the Constitution. The articles include charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, Democratic leaders announced Tuesday.

The House Democratic chairs who led the investigations against Trump formally unveiled the impeachment articles at a press conference Tuesday morning, an announcement that marks a formal culmination of an investigation into the President's dealings with Ukraine.

"Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the President of the United States Donald J. Trump with committing high crimes and misdemeanors," House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said at that news conference alongside House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other committee chairs.

"President Trump violated his oath to the American people. He placed his own private interests ahead of our own national security and the integrity of our elections," House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said at the end of Monday's impeachment hearing. "Such conduct is clearly impeachable. This Committee will proceed accordingly."

The news comes after the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on Monday where the counsels from the House Intelligence Committee presented its findings in its impeachment investigation.

Democrats allege Trump abused his power by seeking to leverage a White House meeting and nearly $400 million in security assistance for Ukraine to force the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, to announce an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and the 2016 election.

Democrats have also criticized Trump's administration for blocking all subpoenas and documents related to the inquiry across the executive branch, arguing that he is seeking to block legitimate congressional oversight.

The announcement sets the stage for an impeachment vote on the House for next week after the House Judiciary Committee debates and approves the articles before Thursday.

The impeachment vote is likely to split largely along party lines, with a handful of potential Democratic defections. No Republicans appear likely to vote for impeachment after congressional Republicans denounced the investigation as unfair and biased against the President.

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