‘No Choice’ But To Move Forward With Articles Of Impeachment – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

(CNN) — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday the House was
proceeding with articles of impeachment against President Donald
Trump, a historic step that is likely to make Trump the third
President in US history to be impeached.

“Today, I am asking our chairman to proceed with articles of
impeachment,” Pelosi said in a brief address outside her office,
the same location where she announced Democrats would open the
impeachment inquiry two months ago. “The President leaves us no
choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt once again the
election for his own benefit.”

The speaker’s announcement is the clearest signal yet that
Democrats are moving swiftly to impeach the President before
Christmas.

Pelosi’s direction to House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler to
draft articles of impeachment comes one day after his committee
held its first impeachment hearing, where legal experts testified
on about whether Trump’s conduct was impeachable.

Pelosi argued that the case against Trump is clear.

“The facts are uncontested. The President abused his power for
his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national
security by withholding military aid and a crucial Oval Office
meeting in exchange for an announcement of an investigation into
his political rival,” she said.

“If we allow a President to be above the law, we do so surely at
the peril of our republic,” Pelosi continued, adding, “In America,
no one is above the law.”

Trump tweeted ahead of Pelosi’s announcement Thursday that the
Democrats should quickly impeach him so they could move onto the
Senate trial, where Republicans have a majority.

“They have no Impeachment case and are demeaning our Country,”
Trump said. “But nothing matters to them, they have gone crazy.
Therefore I say, if you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast,
so we can have a fair…trial in the Senate, and so that our Country
can get back to business.”

As the Judiciary Committee prepares to bring forward articles of
impeachment, the panel’s next step is expected to be a look into
the evidence presented by the House Intelligence Committee, which
released on Tuesday a 300-page report detailing the findings of the
House’s two-month investigation into Trump and Ukraine.

Pelosi has been engaging in a stream of private conversations in
recent days with her colleagues to get their input on whether
they’re ready to impeach Trump and what should be included in the
articles of impeachment, according to multiple sources familiar
with the matter.

Speaking to her caucus behind closed doors on Wednesday, Pelosi
asked: “Are you ready?”

The question focused on whether the Democratic caucus was ready
to keep moving forward on the next steps on impeachment, and
Democrats were vocal in responding yes, according to sources
familiar with the meeting.

Democrats are considering bringing multiple articles of
impeachment against the President, including abuse of power and
bribery for his actions toward Ukraine, and obstruction of Congress
for stonewalling the investigation. Democrats are also weighing
whether to bring forward an obstruction of justice charge that
would include the allegations against Trump detailed in former
special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.

The House Judiciary Committee, which took up the obstruction of
justice investigation, included questions about Mueller and
obstruction of justice at Wednesday’s hearing.

Republicans have continued to slam the impeachment process as an
unfair process that’s predetermined to try to overturn the results
of the 2016 election.

Trump’s tweets Thursday included a call for Republicans in the
Senate to call witnesses that Democrats have not allowed in the
House, including House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, former
Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden — and even
Pelosi.

“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 am
doing!” he said.

This story has been updated with additional developments
Thursday.

Culled from Cable News Network

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