WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time following the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by what authorities are calling a mob of Trump loyalists.
Trump faces a single charge of incitement of insurrection, with the majority of House members agreeing that he “encouraged” the mob to “fight like hell” in a speech prior to the breaching of the Capitol. Five people died, including a Capitol Police officer, who was reportedly beaten by the intruders.
The president was impeached the first time on Dec. 18, 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after a whistleblower complaint about a July 2019 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was made. The complaint said Trump threatened to withhold U.S. foreign aid until Zelensky promised to investigate Hunter Biden, son of now President-Elect Joe Biden, for suspicious dealings in Ukraine.
The U.S. Senate on Feb. 5, 2020 voted to acquit Trump. It is unclear yet how the Senate will vote this time.
Rep. Robert Aderholt, R-Alabama released the following statement concerning his “no” vote on impeachment Wednesday.
“The storming of the United States Capitol was an American tragedy. As someone who was in the chamber of the House of Representatives that day, I can tell you it was a dark day in American history. The actions of those who broke into the building are unacceptable and undefendable. As I stated last week, our goal now should be on unifying our nation and to prayerfully seek answers to our nation’s problems.
“While I understand Democrats wanting to express their anger in the form of impeachment, the act, which is more symbolic than actionable, causes more division and does not advance unity or healing. The United States Senate leader has stated that the Senate will not be able to even begin a trial until after President Trump has already left office next week.
“I believe that it would be in the best interest of all Americans for us to focus on cooling tensions, finding common ground and praying for this nation as we face so many challenges including the COVID-19 pandemic. In all sincerity, I do not believe that the impeachment today does anything to move our great constitutional republic forward.”
Trump is the first U.S. president to be impeached twice. He will leave office Jan. 20, 2021 when Biden is sworn in.
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