House Democrats have finally sent the articles of impeachment over to the Senate, and now the trial portion of this whole debacle is officially under way.
Rep. Adam Schiff read the bi-partisan charges against the president on the Senate floor, claiming that President Trump should be removed from office for “obstruction of congress,” and “abuse of power.”
“Wherefore, President Trump, by such conduct, has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law,” Schiff said in his statement to the Senate. “President Trump thus warrants impeachment and trial, removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States.”
Remember, Democrats believe Donald Trump is such a threat to our nation that they waited nearly a month to announce trial managers.
Senator McConnell took House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to task for celebrating President Trump’s impeachment by handing out souvenir pens following approval of the House impeachment managers.
“Nothing says seriousness and sobriety like handing out souvenirs, as though this were a happy bill-signing instead of the gravest process in our Constitution,” he said.
“They posed for smiling photos,” he went on to say, calling out Democrats cheering throughout this so-called “somber” process. “I seem to remember Democrats falling over themselves to say ‘they did not see impeachment as a long-sought political win.”
“House Democrats said over and over that they recognized the gravity and the seriousness of this action. And, of course, they had only come to it reluctantly.”
Chief Justice John Roberts was officially sworn in later in the afternoon, and proceeded to swear in the members of the Senate.
Senate rules say the president still needs to be summoned and given a chance to respond. President Trump will be primarily represented by two attorneys, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Jay Sekulow, a private attorney who represented Trump in the Russia investigation.
But that is expected to be the extent of the “action” this week. Senators will likely head home for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, and the essence of the trial will get under way next Tuesday.
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