House Judiciary Committee chairman Jerry Nadler announced two articles of impeachment against President Trump Tuesday morning, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
A third charge based on information in the Mueller report, obstruction of justice, was not included over concerns that it would backfire among some moderate House Democrats, who see it as a politically motivated overreach.
“Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the president of the U.S., Donald J. Trump, with committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said at a press conference announcing the charges.
At the committee’s last impeachment hearing on Monday, Nadler said Trump “constitutes a continuing threat to the integrity of our elections and to our democratic system of government.”
“Such conduct is clearly impeachable. This committee will proceed accordingly,” Nadler added.
The nearly three-month impeachment inquiry investigated whether Trump engaged in a quid pro quo with Ukraine by temporarily delaying U.S. military aid to the NATO ally while pressuring the country to announce an investigation into his political rival, former vice president Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden.
In a July 25 phone call with the Ukrainian president, Trump asked him to “do us a favor” and investigate how and why Hunter Biden secured a lucrative position on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was overseeing the Obama administration’s efforts to battle corruption in Ukraine as vice president.
Trump and the White House have denied the accusations, and Trump has blasted the investigation as a “witch hunt.”
The inquiry process has roiled Republicans, who complained that Trump and the GOP have not been afforded due process. Democrats retained the right to block the testimony of witnesses requested by Republicans, including Hunter Biden and Democratic House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff. The president’s counsel refused to participate in the Judiciary Committee hearings.
“They’re desperate to have an impeachment vote on this president,” said Rep. Doug Collins, the ranking House Judiciary Republican, said of Democrats.
A full House vote on the impeachment articles is expected next week.
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