Impeachment of Donald Trump Confirmed by Democrats

Donald Trump is set for impeachment. The outgoing President of the United States was formally charged today, by Democrats in the House of Representatives, with what is termed “incitement of insurrection”.

The decision to impeach Trump follows the the attempted coup undertaken by his supporters in Washington last week. Donald Trump will become the first ever US president to be the subject of impeachment twice.

In all, five people died in the attack on the Capitol last week. The attack was launched following a speech by Donald Trump, in which he told his supporters to “fight like hell” to help him to overturn his election defeat at the hands of the Democratic candidate, Joe Biden.

It was the Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who set the process in motion. An initial resolution was passed, calling on Vice-President Mike Pence to act to remove Donald Trump from office under the 25th amendment. Pence was a target for protestors during the violent scenes in the Capitol, with chants of “Hang Mike Pence” ranking among the days’ greatest hits.

A scaffold and a noose had been constructed and positioned outside the houses of congress, with summary justice in mind.

It is possible for members of the cabinet to agree to remove a president under extreme circumstances. However, the likelihood of Pence, who had supported Donald Trump throughout his crazed campaign to over-turn the election, was slim and so it was no surprise when Republicans blocked the Democratic resolution.

That anticipated setback was followed by the introduction of an impeachment article accusing Donald Trump of “incitement of insurrection”. Trump was accused of having “engaged in high crimes and misdemeanors by inciting violence against the government of the United States”.

In doing so, the outgoing President clearly violated his oath of office.

The article of impeachment also specified the fact that under the 14th amendment there are prohibitions against any person who engages in insurrection or rebellion against the USA from holding any office in the USA.

The question now is: can the process be carried through effectively. And when?

The House of Representatives could push for a vote on the article of impeachment this week. With a simple majority, the conditions necessary for Trump to be impeached a second time would have been met. But, with the Senate in recess until after the inauguration of Joe Biden as President, the process would then be stalled.

What will happen if and when the article of impeachment is considered by the Senate remains to be seen. The Senate is currently split 50/50 between Democrats and Republicans and with a two-thirds majority required for a successful impeachment, the support of at least 17 Republicans would be required to successfully clinch the verdict.

The scale of the crimes committed by Donald Trump notwithstanding – and the extent to which people all over the world might see it as an open and shut case notwithstanding too – that currently seems like an unlikely outcome.

Trump has already been acquitted once on impeachment, when he was found not guilty of abuse of power by the Senate in February 2020. The vote was 52-48 against, with Mitt Romney from Utah the only Republican to support the impeachment.

Meanwhile, Trump supporters have threatened to march on the Capitol again, on Inauguration Day, January 20th, in what is being called “A Million Militia March”. One can only assume that the police will be better prepared on this occasion. There might be grim scenes involved, if the march does go ahead...

Also today, there was confirmation that the US PGA had decided to move the 2022 PGA Championship from Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, which is owned by the disgraced President. "The PGA of America Board of Directors voted tonight to exercise the right to terminate the agreement to play the 2022 PGA Championship at Trump Bedminster," Jim Richerson, the President of the PGA of America said in a tweet.