WASHINGTON – The House is on the verge of accusing President Donald Trump a second time, making him the first president ever to face this punishment twice.
Housemates are expected to vote on a single indictment around 3 p.m. ET, accusing Trump of “inciting insurgency” in the wake of a pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building last Wednesday.
The vote comes exactly one week before the inauguration day when Trump leaves office and Joe Biden is sworn in as president on the steps of the Capitol.
On Tuesday night, Democrats, along with a handful of Republicans, passed a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to call for the 25th amendment to remove Trump from office. But before the vote, Pence made it clear that he would not do so, saying that he did not believe that “such an action is in the best interests of our country or in accordance with our Constitution.”
Democrats have overwhelmingly voiced support for Trump’s indictment, and as of Tuesday night, a handful of Republicans said they plan to join their peers and accuse him during Wednesday’s vote. These include Republican Conference Speaker of the House, Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., The most sensational one, as well as representatives Fred Upton, R-Mich., Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill. and John Katko, RN.Y.
The “incitement to rebellion” article of indictment was proposed Monday by representatives Jaime Raskin, D-Md., Ted Lieu, D-California, and David Cicilline, DR.I. It is said that Trump ‘has demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if he is allowed to remain in office, and that he has acted in a way that is incompatible with self-government and the rule of law. right.’
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power and endangered an equal branch of government,” reads the accused five-page article. “He thus betrayed his confidence as president to the apparent injury of the people of the United States.”
The article also mentions Trump’s call on January 2 in which he called on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find ‘votes’ to overthrow the state’s election results as part of his effort to’ certify the results of undermine and hamper the 2020 presidential election. “
Trump in turn has no public events on his schedule on Wednesday and with Twitter banning his account last week, the president cannot tweet about the indictment process, just like when the House charged him in December 2019.
A former White House official told NBC News that Trump was part of “challenging … a bit grumpy”, while another source said the president was getting tough in his defiance. This source said the president’s comments Tuesday that he did nothing wrong undermine his allies’ efforts to try to dissuade him from doing things that could make it harder to limit the number of Republicans who support accusations.
“Nobody told him to say anything,” the source added. “This is who he is.”
Biden, meanwhile, has no public events on his roster Wednesday. Elected Vice President Kamala Harris is taking part in a virtual funding event for the committee that will organize the inauguration next week.
Once the House prosecutes Trump, the next step is for the Senate to hold a trial to determine if he is guilty and possibly re-elected to office. Although it is not yet entirely clear when the trial would take place, GP doctor Steny Hoyer, D-Md., Said earlier this week that he wanted to send the indictment to the upper chamber immediately after approval.
House President Nancy Pelosi, D-California, on Tuesday nominated nine Democratic indictments for the trial, with Raskin leading the team that will prosecute Trump.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Said last week that the Senate could take the earliest on January 19 unless all 100 senators agree to return early.
Kristen Welker, Peter Alexander, Carol E. Lee, Monica Alba, Kelly O’Donnell and Hallie Jackson contributed.