Trump impeached for second time

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump became the first US president in history to be impeached twice when the US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to charge him with inciting last week’s mob attack on Congress.

“Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the vote.

The Senate will not hold a trial before Jan. 20, when Democrat Joe Biden assumes the presidency, meaning the real estate tycoon will escape the ignominy of being forced to leave early.

He is set, however, to face a Senate trial later and if convicted he might be barred in a follow-up vote from seeking the presidency again in 2024.

“Donald Trump has deservedly become the first president in American history to bear the stain of impeachment twice over,” said Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer, who in a week’s time will become Senate leader.

The House passed a single article of impeachment, accusing Trump of “incitement of insurrection,” focused on an incendiary speech he delivered a week earlier to thousands of supporters shortly before the pro-Trump mob rampaged through the Capitol.

During his speech, Trump repeated false claims that the election was fraudulent and exhorted supporters to march on the Capitol, telling them to “stop the steal,” “show strength,” “fight much harder” and use “very different rules.”

The vote in the Democratic-controlled House was 232-197. Ten Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s number three in the House, Rep. Liz Cheney.

“I am in total peace today that my vote was the right thing and I actually think history will judge it that way,” said Adam Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic and one of the Republicans who crossed the aisle.

No US president has ever been removed from office through impeachment. Three—Trump in 2019, Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868—previously were impeached by the House but acquitted by the Senate.

Holed up in the White House, Trump issued a videotaped address in which he made no mention of impeachment or his ferocious attempts to persuade half the country into believing that Biden’s victory was fraudulent.

Instead, the comments focused on an appeal for Americans to be “united,” avoid violence and “overcome the passions of the moment.”

“There is never a justification for violence. No excuses, no exceptions: America is a nation of laws,” Trump said.

Biden called Wednesday’s decision by lawmakers “a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience.” He inherits the pandemic and an ailing economy amid many other woes.

“I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constitutional responsibilities on impeachment while also working on the other urgent business of this nation,” Biden said in a statement.

HEAVY GUARD Scores of National Guard troops deployed to protect the US Capitol lounge in its visitors’ center on Wednesday before the House of Representatives opened debates to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time for inciting his followers to attack the symbol of American democracy. The House voted 232-197 to impeach Trump. —REUTERS

Despite Trump’s denunciation of violence following the mayhem inflicted by his followers when they invaded Congress, fears of unrest are high.

Armed National Guards deployed across the capital, and downtown Washington streets were blocked to traffic.

In the Capitol building itself, guards in full camouflage and carrying assault rifles assembled, some of them grabbing naps early Wednesday under the ornate statues and historical paintings.

‘Clear and present danger’

Trump survived a first impeachment almost exactly a year ago when the Republican-controlled Senate acquitted him of abusing his office to try and get dirt on Biden’s family before the election.

This time, his downfall was triggered by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall on Jan. 6, telling them that Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march on Congress and show “strength.”

Amped up on weeks of election conspiracy theories pushed by Trump, the mob then stormed into the Capitol, fatally wounded one police officer, wrecked furniture and forced terrified lawmakers to hide, interrupting a ceremony to put the legal stamp on Biden’s victory.

One protester was shot dead, and three other people died of “medical emergencies,” bringing the toll to five.

“The president of the United States incited this insurrection, this armed rebellion against our common country,” Pelosi said on the House floor before the vote. “He must go. He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love.”

But Nancy Mace, a newly elected Republican congresswoman, said that while lawmakers “need to hold the president accountable,” the speed of the impeachment “poses great questions about the constitutionality.”

The top Republican in the House, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, said that while Trump deserves censure, hurriedly impeaching him will “further divide this nation.”

Trump, who has been stripped of his social media megaphones by Twitter and Facebook, and finds himself increasingly ostracized in the business world, is struggling to impose his message—let alone any kind of resistance.

His refusal to accept any responsibility for the horrifying scenes on Jan. 6—including his insistence on Tuesday that his speech was “totally appropriate”—has infuriated allies and opponents alike.

The main question now is to what extent former Republican allies in the Senate will turn on their party’s figurehead once the Democrats take over control of the chamber.

Current Senate leader, Republican Mitch McConnell, says he will not call for an impeachment trial before Trump’s Jan. 20 exit.

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that McConnell is signaling privately that he believes Trump did commit impeachable offenses.