GOP Rep. Kelly Armstrong: 'This isn't a somber, solemn process: this is a political drive-by. They just want Pres. Trump gone.'
. They will not soon forgive your perversion of justice and abuse of power," Trump wrote in an angry letter sent to Pelosi on Tuesday.
The U.S. Capitol is shown late on Dec. 18, 2019, in Washington prior to a vote on two articles of impeachment against President Trump.ABC'S Benjamin Siegel reports that, assuming both sides use all their remaining time, the House is set to end debate just before 7 p.m., with votes after that,Rep.
President Donald Trump departs the White House for a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Mich., Dec. 18, 2019, in Washington.4:44 p.m. Rep. Justin Amash, the lone Independent in Congress, speaks in favor of impeachment Independent Rep. Justin Amash speaks on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives prior to a vote on two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump in Washington, Dec. 18, 2019."President Trump Donald J. Trump has abused and violated the public trust by using his high office to solicit the aid of a foreign power, not for the benefit of the United States of America, but instead for his personal and political gain.
"The president of the United States was willing to sacrifice our national security ... But for the courage of someone willing to blow the whistle, he would've gotten away with it. Instead, he got caught," Schiff says, as he begins a detailed account of what he argues are Trump's impeachable offenses.
After a fiery speech from Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, Judiciary Chairman Nadler accuses him of repeating"Russian propaganda" on the House floor, after Gohmert, repeating a debunked theory, says one of the impeachment probe's goals was to to stop a Justice Department investigation into Ukraine's interference into the U.S. election in 2016.Rep. Diana DeGette, presiding, repeatedly banged her gavel and refused to recognize him. He sulked off.Rep.
After her remarks to kick off debate, she spent some time in the front of the chamber, nodding along with some of the points made by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee. Now she's sitting towards the back, in an aisle seat. ABC News' Mariam Khan reports: On the other side of Capitol Hill, away from the ongoing impeachment proceedings, we catch up with President Trump’s senior counselor and confidante Kellyanne Conway as she makes her way to join Senate Republicans for their weekly lunch.
"I would remind the gentleman if President Trump is impeached and removed, the new president would be Mike Pence not Hillary Clinton," Nadler said, replying to Stewart. "The American people see through this sad charade for what it is: an attempt to undo the 2016 election based on hearsay and opinion," Rep. Ross Spano, a Florida Republican says.
"Today's going to be a lot of things. What it is not is fair. What it is not is about the truth," he says. 12:08 p.m. Pelosi recites the Pledge of Allegiance, emphasizing the words "to the Republic for which it stands" "What we are discussing today is the established fact that the president violated the Constitution. It is a matter of fact that the president is an ongoing threat to our national security and the integrity of our elections, the basis of our democracy," Pelosi said.
The main event is about to start and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to lead off what will be at least six hours of floor debate. House Rules Committee ranking member Rep. Tom Cole speaks as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 18, 2019.
"This isn't about siding with your team. I didn't swear an oath to defend a political party. I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America. And when I vote yes on this rule and the underlying articles, my conscience will be clear," he says.Democratic Rep. Joe Kennedy, D-Mass., uses his time to share a letter he wrote to his children, Ellie and James, explaining his decision to vote to impeach the president.
A White House official says that, aside from receiving an intelligence briefing at 11:45 a.m. and traveling to a campaign rally later today, the president also plans to participate in internal policy meetings. The official would not say what the topics of those meetings were, with whom Trump was meeting, and if there was anything else on the president’s schedule.
Protesters supporting the impeachment of U.S. President Donald Trump gather outside the U.S. Capitol Dec. 18, 2019, in Washington.A lone Trump supporter holds a sign in support of the President outside the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 18, 2019. But she raised concerns the process has been politically rigged and biased and that Democrats are"tearing this country apart" by voting to impeach the president when they haven't proven he committed an impeachable offense.
Republicans have requested a recorded vote. This will go another 15 minutes and pass along party lines.ABC News' Benjamin Siegel reports: The motion to adjourn is defeated along party lines.The clerk is now reading the resolution, which accuses House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam and House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler of abusing their power as committee chairs.
On the Democratic side, fewer than a dozen Democrats are on the floor right now. House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern is preparing to preside of the initial"rule" debate with his staff. This was the first time in American history that the House Rules Committee, which is traditionally used by the speaker to control the floor schedule of the chamber, has ever taken up impeachment.In analysis, ABC News Political Director Rick Klein writes in"In the relatively short life of the current impeachment push, political perceptions have shifted far more than the basic facts ever have.
"Everyone, you included, knows what is really happening," Trump wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday. Siegel reports that as of this morning he is still registered as a Democrat and will likely be for the vote. ABC News' Ben Gittleson at the White House reports: “Say a prayer” seems to be a pretty clear reference to Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying she prays for Trump and is approaching the process prayerfully, something Trump mocked and criticized in his letter to the speaker on Tuesday.
Ahead of the historic House vote, more than two dozen lawmakers from the 31 Democratic House districts carried by Trump in 2016 announced plans to vote for both articles of impeachment.
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