WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives was set to take a momentous and deeply polarising vote on Wednesday evening to impeach President Donald Trump on charges of abusing his office and obstructing a congressional probe.
On the morning of the vote, Trump once again insisted that he had done “nothing wrong,” following the release of a letter in which he likened the proceedings to an “attempted coup” and a witch trial.
“Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing,” Trump tweeted.
The day before, Trump had sent an extraordinarily angry six-page letter to Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the Democratic-led House of Representatives, warning that “history will judge you harshly.” The letter came just minutes before Pelosi announced the Wednesday House vote.
“The House of Representatives will exercise one of the most solemn powers granted to us by the Constitution as we vote to approve two articles of impeachment against the president of the United States,” Pelosi said in a letter to Democratic colleagues on Tuesday.
“During this very prayerful moment in our nation’s history, we must honour our oath to support and defend our constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic,” she added.
Frustration and fury
Trump is accused of attempting to force Ukraine into investigating a main 2020 reelection rival, Joe Biden.
He is also accused of obstructing Congress by refusing to cooperate with the impeachment investigation, barring staff from testifying and holding back documentary evidence.
The two articles of impeachment are certain to pass in the House, where Democrats hold a firm majority.
That will send the case to the Senate, where a trial of Trump is expected to open in January, and his acquittal is equally expected, given the Republicans’ control there.
Even with that likely outcome, Trump poured out his frustration and fury in the letter to Pelosi, defending his record and attacking Democrats.
The letter accused the veteran Democratic politician of “breaking your allegiance to the Constitution” and “declaring open war on American Democracy.” It repeated his claim that the entire case against him is a “hoax” and a “colossal injustice,” and said Democrats were being driven in impeachment “by your most deranged and radical representatives of the far left.”
Democrats do the numbers
Pelosi dismissed the letter as “really sick.” Wednesday’s debate will last six hours, with a vote expected in late evening.
While the debate occurs, Trump will fly to Battle Creek, a city in the swing state of Michigan, to host a rally on Wednesday evening.
With the exception of just two, the 235 Democrat members in Congress appeared poised to stand united in voting through the formal impeachment charges.
While some members from relatively conservative districts face the possibility of being voted out of office next year for their stance, they stood together under Pelosi’s political wrangling.
“My military service taught me to put our country — not politics — first, and my time as a federal prosecutor taught me about the
importance of the rule of law and of justice,” declared Mikie Sherrill, a first-term representative from
a Trump-leaning district in New Jersey.
“I will be voting in favour of the articles of impeachment.”
“I know some people will be angry at my decision, but I was elected to do what is right, not politically safe,” said Anthony Brindisi, another first-term Democrat, from a conservative New York constituency.
Protests in support of impeachment broke out in several cities including New York, Boston, New Orleans and Los Angeles.
Demonstrators waved signs urging Congress to “Dump Trump” and “Protect our Democracy.” One sign wished fellow protesters a “merry impeachment,” in reference to the approaching Christmas holiday.
— AFP
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