US House Democrats to introduce article of impeachment against Trump

US House Democrats are set to introduce an article of impeachment against outgoing President Donald Trump on Monday over the deadly January 6 Capitol unrestCalifornia Congressman Ted Lieu a Democratic member of the House Judiciary Committee tweeted on Saturday that the article of impeachment which has so far had 180 cosponsors will be brought forward during Mondays pro forma session in the lower chamber reports Xinhua news agencyLieu Congressmen David Cicilline from Rhode Island and Jamie Raskin from Maryland wrote the article of impeachment seeking to remove Trump for incitement of insurrection at the CapitolThousands of Trumps supporters overwhelmed police and violently breached the Capitol on January 6 when Congress was certifying Presidentelect Joe Bidens victory in November 3 2020 presidential electionThe chaos and violence forced a lockdown on the Capitol grounds and left five people dead including a police officer and dozens of others injuredTrump addressed a rally outside the White House shortly before the deadly violence unfolded on Capitol Hill urging his supporters to march toward the building deemed as the citadel of American democracy to encourage Republican lawmakers to contest the Electoral College results as he had refused to acknowledge their legitimacy with unsubstantiated claims of voter fraudAs of Saturday US prosecutors have filed 17 cases in federal district court and 40 others in the District of Columbia Superior Court for a variety of offenses ranging from assaulting police officers to entering restricted areas of the Capitol stealing federal property and threatening lawmakersHouse Speaker Nancy Pelosi has publicly expressed support for initiating proceedings to impeach Trump for a second time in just over a yearThe House led by Democrats impeached Trump in 2019 after an inquiry triggered by a whistleblower complaint that raised concerns about the White Houses interactions with UkraineThe Republicanled Senate later acquitted the President allowing him to continue holding officeThe US Constitution provides that the House of Representatives shall have the sole Power of Impeachment and that the Senate shall have the sole Power to try all ImpeachmentsThrough the impeachment process Congress charges and then tries an official of the federal government for Treason Bribery or other high Crimes and MisdemeanoursThe definition of high Crimes and Misdemeanours is not specified in the Constitution and has long been subject to debateConviction can only happen in the Senate and requires at least twothirds of its members or 67 Senators to vote in favor of at least one article of impeachment after a trialNo sitting US President has ever been removed from office by Congress through impeachmentSenate Republicans have been divided over the impeachment pushSenator Pat Toomey a Pennsylvania Republican set to retire in 2022 told Fox News on Saturday that he believes Trump has committed impeachable offenses by inciting violence at the CapitolHowever Toomey pointed out that he doesnt know whether it is possible or practical to move ahead with impeachment proceedings since Trump only has 11 days left in office before Biden is sworn in on January 20Im not sure its desirable to attempt to force him out what a day or two or three prior to the day on which hes going to be finished anyway he explainedSo Im not clear thats the best path forwardSenator Lindsey Graham a South Carolina Republican and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee tweeted on Friday that any attempt to impeach President Trump would not only be unsuccessful in the Senate but would be a dangerous precedent for the future of the presidencyIm convinced impeachment under these circumstances will further divide the country and erode the institution of the presidency itself Graham wroteIt will take both parties to heal the nationOutgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell a Kentucky Republican has reportedly circulated to colleagues a memo outlining procedures for holding another trial for Trump in the upper chamber if the House impeaches him againThe Senate is currently in recess until January 19 a day before the end of Trumps presidency and impeachment trial proceedings cannot begin before then unless all 100 Senators consent to an early return a scenario which is unlikely to happenTrump has announced he will not be attending Bidens inauguration the first outgoing US President to skip his successors swearingin in over 150 yearsVice President Mike Pence reportedly will attend the event on Capitol Hill at the invitation of BidenA day after the unprecedented violence Congress affirmed the 2020 Electoral College votes in which Biden won 306 versus 232 for TrumpIt takes at least 270 electoral votes to win the White HouseBiden also won the popular votes by 7 million and more than 4 percentage pointsShortly after the congressional certification of Bidens victory Trump acknowledged defeat and promised to ensure a smooth orderly and 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