Congressional Democrat leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday (December 5th) gave a boost to the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump, demanding that the indictment against the US president, who was guilty of she D'" abuse of power ".
In a formal address, Pelosi asked the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives Judiciary Committee to begin drafting the impeachment articles. "The president is leaving us no choice because he has tried again to corrupt our elections for his own benefit"she said in a solemn tone. he "Abused our power, weakened our national security and endangered the integrity of our elections"she said.
The Democrats have opened an investigation into dismissal against Donald Trump after learning he had asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, well placed to face it in the presidential election of 2020.
Their investigations, marked by the hearing of 17 witnesses, showed that an invitation to the White House to President Volodymyr Zelensky was conditional on the announcement of the investigations on Joe Biden. Nearly $ 400 million in aid to Ukraine, in armed conflict with Russia, has, according to senior officials, also served as a means of pressure.
Legal debate
After this phase of investigation, the parliamentarians started Wednesday the legal debate to know if the facts reproached to the president correspond to one of the reasons for dismissal provided for by the Constitution: "Treason, corruption or other crimes and major offenses".
Three law professors from prestigious universities, invited by the Democrats, answered in the affirmative. A fourth, invited by the Republicans, judged the evidence "Insufficient".
On this basis, Ms. Pelosi wished to impeach the President. "We do it without joy", she said during a press conference marked by a lively exchange with a journalist. This implied that it was animated by a "Hate" to Donald Trump. " I am catholic, she replied, I do not hate anyone. I pray all the time for the president. Do not look for me with this type of words! "
Despite this warning, Republican minority House leader Kevin McCarthy accused Democrats of being motivated by their "Animosity" to the president. According to him, there is "No corruption, no obstruction of justice, no abuse of power" in the Ukrainian case.
" We will win ! "
These charges could be included in the items to be voted on in plenary in the House of Representatives, presumably before Christmas.
Given the balance of power in this chamber, Donald Trump is almost certain to become the third president of the history indicted in Congress, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Like them, he should be acquitted in the Senate . It would require a two-thirds majority to remove him, which seems very unlikely as the elected officials of his party block around him.
"Republicans have never been so united. We will win ", tweeted Donald Trump after the announcement of Ms. Pelosi, to whom he also launched: "If you must charge me, do it now, quickly, so that we have a fair trial in the Senate, and for our country to get back to work." "
The real estate mogul has hinted that he will use his trial as a political forum. "We will reveal, for the first time, how corrupt the system is", he said.
David Axelrod, former political advisor to Democratic President Barack Obama, summarized the situation in one tweet: "The Chamber will put (President) before the end of the year because what he did justifies it. The Senate will hold a trial in January without convicting him, despite the evidence, because he has absolute control over his party. And we will move on to something else. "
