“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

THE U.S. House on Wednesday voted 232 to 197 to impeach President Donald Trump on charge of “incitement of insurrection,” making Trump the first president to be impeached twice. Ten Republicans joined the Democrats to impeach Trump. It was exactly a week after a vicious mob attacked the Capitol, where lawmakers were meeting to approve President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College win.

Representative Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican who voted for impeachment, had noted a day earlier: “None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution.”

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters before she signed the article of impeachment: “Today, in a bipartisan way the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States. That Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to our country and that once again we honor our oath of office to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, so help us God. And now, I sadly and with a heart broken over what this means to our country, of a president who would incite insurrection, will sign the engrossment of the article of impeachment.”

Trump in a video message after his impeachment claimed: “Mob violence goes against everything I believe in and everything our movement stands for.”

He added: “No true supporters of mine could ever endorse political violence. No true supporter of mine could disrespect law enforcement or our great American flag. No true supporter of mine could ever threaten or harass their fellow Americans. If you do any of these things, you are not supporting our movement- you are attacking it. And you are attacking our country. We cannot tolerate it.”

CNN noted that the video was in stark contrast to his first message about the riots which he released hours after that violence. He old the mob “We love you” and “You’re very special.”

And then in a tweet he tried to justify the riots, saying: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.”

Many social media companies ended up banning Trump from using their platforms.

However, as CNN explained, “Impeaching Trump in the House does not remove him from office. Neither a second House impeachment nor even a Senate vote to convict Trump and remove him from office would prevent him from running again, in 2024 or beyond. Rather, after two-thirds of senators present voted to remove Trump, a simple majority of senators present would have to approve an additional vote to bar him from the presidency in the future.”

MEANWHILE, Biden in a statement on the impeachment, said on Wednesday:

“Last week, we saw an unprecedented assault on our democracy. It was unlike anything we have witnessed in the 244-year history of our nation.

“A violent attack on the United States Capitol itself. On the people’s representatives. On police officers who every day risk their lives to protect them. And on fellow citizens who serve as public servants in that Citadel of Liberty.

“Windows and doors were destroyed. Offices ransacked. A Capitol Hill police officer was murdered. Another lost his life a few days later. Four other people died in the senseless mayhem of that day.

“This criminal attack was planned and coordinated. It was carried out by political extremists and domestic terrorists, who were incited to this violence by President Trump.

“It was an armed insurrection against the United States of America. And those responsible must be held accountable.

“Today, the members of the House of Representatives exercised the power granted to them under our Constitution and voted to impeach and hold the president accountable. It was a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the Constitution and their conscience.”

Noting that “the process continues to the Senate,” Biden, however, added: “This nation also remains in the grip of a deadly virus and a reeling economy. 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.

“From confirmations to key posts such as Secretaries for Homeland Security, State, Defense, Treasury, and Director of National Intelligence, to getting our vaccine program on track, and to getting our economy going again. Too many of our fellow Americans have suffered for too long over the past year to delay this urgent work.”

READ ALSO: