House Kills Articles of Impeachment Against Trump

Update - 6:10pm:

• The House on Wednesday defeated an effort from Rep. Al Green (D-TX) to impeach President Donald Trump over “racist comments” against four Democratic congresswomen of color.
• The 332-95 vote included a majority of Democrats voting along with Republicans to kill the measure. However, the 95 Democrats who voted against tabling the measure shows an increase in support for considering impeachment.

"With all the respect in the world for him [Rep. Green], we have six committees that are working on following the facts in terms of any abuse of power, obstruction of justice and the rest," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said shortly before the vote. "That is the serious path we are on." 

What’s the earlier story?

• The House will vote Wednesday on a resolution to impeach President Donald Trump, after Rep. Al Green (D-TX) formally submitted articles of impeachment against the commander in chief.
• It is not yet known whether the lower chamber will vote to send the resolution to committee, table it, or vote to proceed.
• Green cited the president’s recent “racist comments” against four Democratic congresswomen of color as cause for seeking his removal from office.

"President Donald Trump's racist comments that have legitimatized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color," Green said Tuesday night on the House floor. "Donald John Trump, by causing such harm to the society of the United States, is unfit to be president and warrants impeachment, trial and removal from office."

• Green’s impeachment resolution can be found in full here, and printed below.

“I believe if we don’t do this, the president will only intensify his ugly behavior,” Green told CNN. “It just seemed to me that we should bring these articles before the House of Representatives so that we could not only condemn him, but impeach him so that he will understand that there are some boundaries.”

• 86 House Democrats and one independent now publicly support launching an impeachment inquiry against Trump, according to an Axios analysis. Green has introduced impeachments proceedings twice in the past, both of which failed.
• “Look, if he brings it, I’m going to vote for it. Do I think that’s the most strategic thing right now, without a game plan? Who knows,” Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-LA) told CNN.
• Asked Wednesday morning whether she supported Green's resolution, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said: "No. Does that come as a surprise to you?"
• The House voted Tuesday to condemn the president's remarks about "The Squad."

What does Green's impeachment resolution say?

In maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high misdemeanors committed as president, constituting harm to American society, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. Article 1, the House of Representatives on July 16, 2019 strongly condemned President Donald Trump’s racist comments that have legitimatized and increased fear and hatred of new Americans and people of color by saying that our fellow Americans who are immigrants and those who may look to the president like immigrants, should go back to other countries, by referring to immigrants and asylum seekers as invaders. And by saying that members of Congress who are immigrants or those of our colleagues who are wrongly assumed to be immigrants, do not belong in Congress or in the United States of America.

In all of this, the aforementioned Donald John Trump has by his statement, brought the high office of the President of the United States in contempt, ridiculed, disgraced and disrepute, has sown seeds of discord among the people of the United States, has demonstrated that he is unfit to be president and has betrayed his trust as President of the United States to the manifest injury of the people of the United States. And has committed a high misdemeanor in office.

Therefore, Donald John Trump, by causing such harm to the society of the United States, is unfit to be president and warrants impeachment, trial and removal from office.

What do you think?

Do you support articles of impeachment against President Trump? Take action and tell your reps, then share your thoughts below.

—Josh Herman