Speaker of House Speaker Announces Continuing Presidential Impeachment Process
US President Donald Trump (right) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) // Archive Photo: AFP, Reuters
President Trump's impeachment process: Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, announced Thursday at a press conference that she has asked committee members discussing the process to draft initial drafts regarding the president's impeachment.
The historic announcement is another step signaling the House of Representatives' intention to vote for Donald Trump's ouster from his post as U.S. President even before the end of the current civil year.
Pelosi did not provide further details about the process, but Democratic officials said they are considering many sections detailing the ways in which Trump used his position as president like disrupting justice and blocking Congress measures and decisions. The indictments are likely to be filed by next week.
"Trump's actions hurt the heart of the U.S. Constitution. American democracy is at stake," Pelosi said at the press conference for about 10 minutes.
..... trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business. We will have Schiff, the Bidens, Pelosi and many more testify, and will reveal, for the first time, how corrupt our system really is. I was elected to “Clean the Swamp,” and that's what I'm doing!
- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 5, 2019
Trump's tweet at the end of the press conference
She added that "the facts are clear and irrefutable. Our president has misused his power for his own political and personal good, at the expense of our national security."
President Trump didn't wait much and when the statement ended he tweeted in his Twitter account: "If you want to oust me, do it now, quickly." He added that he wanted "fair trial" in the Senate, arguing that "Schiff, the Baidens, Pelosi and others have proven just how corrupt the system is."
Recall that Pelosi has been involved in every phase of the impeachment investigation since it began last September, when a complaint was filed that President Trump had put pressure on Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelinsky to interrogate his political rivals, including former Vice President Joe Biden.
Pelosi's announcement came a day after the House Judiciary Committee held its first impeachment hearing. The panel heard testimonials from 4 constitutional lawyers, three of whom are Democrats, who said that neo-Trump had committed wrongdoers to the agenda.
The hearing also noted that Democrats are considering including allegations related to Special Counsel's involvement, Robert Muller, in the indictment. During his testimony, Jerry Nadler said that Trump's efforts to pressure Ukraine, coupled with the blocking of the Democratic investigation into the issue, had reinforced a clear pattern of abuse of power and disruption of proceedings.
Even after the commission's report was released last Tuesday, many of those in attendance at the hearing refused publicly to state whether they believed there was enough evidence to support President Trump's impeachment process. But in closed talks, the vast majority claims the case against Trump is strong enough.