The Democrats leading the House impeachment inquiry officially unveiled two articles of impeachment against Donald Trump. During a news conference, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler said:
“The House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the President of the United States Donald J. Trump with committing high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Nadler, D-N.Y., announced that his committee will consider two articles of impeachment — one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress — charging Trump “with committing high crimes and misdemeanors.”
Nadler said the articles of impeachment were being filed in response to Trump allegedly soliciting foreign interference in the 2020 election, compromising national security, threatening the integrity of the upcoming election and concealing evidence from Congress and the American people. Trump, he said, violated his oath of office.
Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff added:
“The president’s oath of office appears to mean very little to him, but the articles put forward today will give us a chance to show that we will defend the Constitution and that our oath means something to us.”
The announcement comes a day after Democrats summed up the central allegations in their impeachment case against Mr. Trump: that he pressured Ukraine to announce investigations into his political rivals while withholding as leverage a coveted White House meeting for its president and $391 million in critical security assistance. His actions, they argued in a lengthy hearing at the Judiciary Committee, had placed the president’s personal political interests above those of the country, threatening the integrity of the election and national security in the process.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi wrote:
The President used the power of his office against a foreign country to corrupt our upcoming elections. He is a continuing threat to our democracy and national security.