Friday, September 20

Trump becomes the only US president to face a second impeachment trial

BBC News Mundo

Donald Trump entered history this Wednesday as the only president of the United States to be subjected to two political trials.

The House of Representatives approved by 232 votes versus 197 accuse the president of “inciting insurrection” by the violent events of last week in the Capitol.

The president denies the accusations and has described this process as a “continuation of the witch hunt” against him.

Ten Republican congressmen aligned themselves with the Democrats and favored the impeachment . This is a big difference from the first political trial, in which no Republican in the House of Representatives approved it.

The vote was carried out after several hours of debate in which the congressmen gave arguments for and against prosecuting Trump.

Democrats insisted on labeling the events of January 6 on Capitol Hill as an attempt to reverse the outcome of the elections on January 3 November and underlined their commitment to defend the Constitution and democracy “from foreign and national enemies.”

For their part, although they recognized the seriousness of the events in the Capitol, most of the Republicans argued that a impeachment a week after Trump leaves power will only create division and that this is the time to close wounds .

The case now goes to the Senate, where the impeachment to determine the guilt of the president ey where is needs a two-thirds majority to condemn it.

Nancy Pelosi, presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes
Nancy Pelosi started the debate by mentioning Abraham Lincoln.

The Democrats, who in the last elections regained control of the Senate, do not have enough votes to reach that majority and it is unknown if they will get the necessary support from the Republican senators.

What the prosecution says

The resolution approved this Wednesday contains a single article by impeachment against Trump, which accuses him of inciting the insurrection against the government.

These are the key points raised by the prosecution:

  • President Trump falsely repeated that the results of the presidential elections were fraudulent and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by state or federal authorities.
  • President Trump reiterated the false allegations to a crowd near the White House and intentionally made statements to the crowd that fueled, and predictably resulted in, illegal actions on Capitol Hill.
  • Members of the crowd, incited by President Trump, break in illegally and vandalized on Capitol Hill, engaged in other violent, destructive and seditious acts, including the death of a law enforcement officer.
  • President Trump’s conduct followed his previous efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the presidential election .
  • President Trump seriously jeopardized the security of the United States and its institutions of government, threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transfer of power, and endangered an equivalent branch of government.

    • They conclude that, therefore, Trump deserves to be subjected to a impeachment , to be tried, removed from office and disqualified from holding public office ever again.

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