Donald Trump has become the first president in the history of the United States to face two political trials or
impeachments
, and in the same term.
In a historic vote, although expected, the House of Representatives - with a Democratic majority - approved on Wednesday a charge of "incitement to insurrection" against the president, after his role in the forced seizure of the Capitol a week ago, which left five dead and material damage to federal property.
Unlike the first trial against Trump - which culminated in February 2020 - in which no Republican in the Lower House voted to convict him, this Wednesday X Republicans did support the process, including some prominent legislators from that party.
The vote was Z against Y.
[Who are the radicals who stormed the Capitol and what is known about those who were arrested]
The Lower House will immediately send the position approved this Wednesday to the Senate - with a Republican majority - to begin the trial in which they will determine whether to convict Trump and, potentially, prohibit him from running again for any office in the Government.
President Donald Trump arrives in Texas for his first public act since the attack on Capitol Hill as Democrats prepare for impeachment.
AP /.
However, it is unclear when that trial will occur.
The Senate will not return to its activities until next January 19, a day before Joe Biden takes office and Trump leaves the White House.
For this reason, the outcome of the process would be mostly symbolic.
“
It must go.
It is a clear and current danger for the country we love
, ”House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after noon at the beginning of the debate.
Trump's conviction, he said, will ensure that the "Republic is safe."
The historic vote comes amid a nationwide high alert for
threats of more attacks and violence
in Washington DC and in the 50 state capitols by pro-president extremist groups.
The legislators are in a Capitol surrounded with fences and reinforced with armed agents of the National Guard.
The Army General Staff condemns the assault on the Capitol and reaffirms its support for Joe Biden
Jan. 13, 202100: 32
Some Republican lawmakers expressed their disagreement with taking Trump to a second trial.
Representative Tom Cole opposed the debate, assuring, like other Republican legislators, that
the corresponding times and rules were not respected
.
Cole called Trump's actions "inappropriate and reckless," but noted, for example, that he was not given the opportunity to respond, although the president has already openly rejected the accusation.
Republican Congressman Jim Jordan, for his part, blamed Democrats for objecting to the previous election results and repeated baseless allegations of voter fraud in 2020.
Every minute Trump spends in the White House is a danger to the nation, the Democratic side responded.
The president has one more week left, until January 20, when president-elect Joe Biden takes office.
"
Is there little time left? Yes. But it is never too late to do the right thing
," Hoyer said about it.
Maximum alert in Washington and the entire country
The debate took place exactly at the "
crime scene
," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Massachusetts, referring to the insurrection against the Capitol building. "We would not be here if it weren't for the president," he remarked.
Trump himself has maintained a bellicose tone, saying it is "dangerous" for him to be prosecuted in his last public appearance and refusing to accept responsibility for last Wednesday's deadly assault.
Although he has repeated, at the same time, that he "does not" want violence.
In the middle of the debate, Trump sent a surprise official statement asking that there be no violence.
"It is not what I represent," he said.
Early Wednesday morning, before the House began its debate, security on Capitol Hill was tightened.
The District of Columbia National Guard said it has been authorized to arm the troops assigned to the building.
In downtown Washington DC, the police closed the streets with military vehicles.
"Incitement to insurrection"
"The president seriously endangered the security of the United States and its government institutions," says the
four-page
impeachment
bill
, in which he is accused of
"incitement to insurrection"
for his speech on 6 January and his repeated unfounded allegations of electoral fraud.
If Trump remains in office, "he will continue to be a threat," the document added.
The FBI detects the call for an armed uprising of Trump supporters
Jan. 13, 202102: 32
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer directly accused the president of "recruiting and deploying" the extremist groups that carried out the assault last week.
McGovern defended the Republican party, ensuring that they never promoted conspiracy theories, as Trump did.
"
People died because of the big lies that were told,
" he said.
Following Pence's refusal to invoke Amendment 25
The
impeachment
comes after the lower house formally asked Vice President Mike Pence Tuesday night to invoke the 25th Amendment to force Trump to leave office days before his term ends.
Pence rejected this request before the debate began saying that he does not believe that "that course of action is the best" for the nation.
In a letter to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, the vice president said the amendment is reserved for cases of medical or mental disability.
"Invoking the 25th Amendment in that way
would set a terrible precedent
," he added.
What is the difference from the first
impeachment
?
The last time Trump was impeached in early 2020, no Republican in the House of Representatives supported the charges against him over a call he made to Ukraine's new president urging him to investigate Biden.
The current impeachment effort, by contrast, has received support from some prominent Republicans.
Mike Pence refuses to contribute to the impeachment of Donald Trump
Jan. 13, 202103: 57
Trump was acquitted by the Senate last February and only one Republican, Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, voted to convict him.
Trump will obligatorily leave the White House on January 20, but the impeachment, if approved in Congress, could
prevent him from running again in a presidential election
, as he seems to threaten to do in 2024.
With information from AP, The New York Times, NBC New and The Wall Street Journal.