The Democrat-controlled House of Representatives has voted to impeach President Donald Trump.
The House has approved Article 1 – Abuse of Power after 216 representatives voted yea. They needed 216 yeas.
The House has approved Article 2 – Obstruction of Congress. Like the previous article, it only needed 216 yeas.
From the White House:
“Today marks the culmination in the House of one of the most shameful political episodes in the history of our Nation. Without receiving a single Republican vote, and without providing any proof of wrongdoing, Democrats pushed illegitimate articles of impeachment against the President through the House of Representatives. Democrats have chosen to proceed on this partisan basis in spite of the fact that the President did absolutely nothing wrong. Indeed, weeks of hearings have proved that he did nothing wrong,” the White House said.The statement went on to call the impeachment a “sham” that denied the President “fundamental fairness and due process under the law.”The White House further stated: “All of these antics make clear that Democrats have lost sight of what this country needs, which is a Congress that works for the people. Their boundless animus for President Trump fuels their desire to nullify the 2016 election results, and improperly influence the 2020 election.”
Both sides used strong hyperbole to make their case for or against impeachment. Here are a few highlights:
Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY) – “It is the President and not any member of this House who has brought us to this sad place. His actions echo in this chamber.”
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) – “He [her son] said, ‘Mom, this is not about politics, this is not about party,'” Schakowsky said. “And pushing back against my arguments, he said, ‘This has nothing to do with the final outcome. It is about doing the right thing even if others don’t.'”
(BTW, this conversation happened in June…one month BEFORE the July 25 call.)
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer “said he never expected to witness such an obvious wrongdoing by a President of the United States.'”
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) stood next to the Time magazine photo of a crying child that many sought to connect to Trump: “If this president is allowed to thwart of efforts of Congress with a legitimate impeachment inquiry the President will not only be above the law, he will be beyond justice. We can not allow any person to be beyond justice in this country. In the name of democracy, on behalf of the republic, and for the sake of the many who are suffering, I will vote to impeach.”
Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) actually compared the vote to Pearl Harbor: “On December 7, 1941, a horrific act happened in the United States, and it’s one that President Roosevelt said, ‘This is a date that will live in infamy.’ Today, December 18th, 2019, is another date that will live in infamy.”
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) stated that Jesus had more due process: “Before you take this historic vote today, one week before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind: When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this President in this process.”
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