In the News

Trump faces 2 impeachment articles; charges allege abuse of power, obstruction

12/11/2019
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

WASHINGTON -- House Democratic leaders Tuesday formally called for President Donald Trump's removal from office in two articles of impeachment that charged him with abusing his power and obstructing Congress, asserting that he "ignored and injured the interests of the nation."

At the heart of the Democrats' case is the allegation that Trump tried to leverage a White House meeting and military aid sought by Ukraine to combat Russian military aggression to pressure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to launch an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, as well as a probe into the theory that Kyiv conspired with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

[DOCUMENT: Read articles of impeachment » arkansasonline.com/1210impeach]

"In all of this, President Trump abused the powers of the presidency by ignoring and injuring national security and other vital national interests to obtain an improper personal political benefit," according to a draft of the first article. "He has also betrayed the nation by abusing his office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections."

A second article charges that by ordering across-the-board defiance of House subpoenas for testimony and documents related to the Ukraine matter, Trump engaged in "unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance" that harmed the House's constitutional rights.

[Click here to watch » https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJJvIF4Ae2M]

Trump responded angrily to Democrats' announcement, taking to Twitter to proclaim their charge that he pressured Ukraine "ridiculous."

The articles of impeachment came as no surprise to Rep. Bruce Westerman, a Republican from Hot Springs.

"I'm not shocked at all. All along, I think it's been in their plans. I just wish it would hurry up and run its course," Westerman said.

"They haven't changed my mind with their hearings or the two articles of impeachment that they put out today. I'm still going to vote 'no' on it. I don't expect any Republicans to support the articles of impeachment with the knowledge that we have."

Westerman said he won't back either impeachment or a motion to censure Trump.

"I think they've made a mockery of the system the way they've done this. So at this point, I'm not supporting anything that they put out," he said.

Sen. John Boozman predicted "several Democrats" in the House would join with their Republican colleagues in opposing impeachment. Not enough, however, to derail the effort entirely.

"They've got the votes, I believe, to pass it, so it will come over to the Senate and then we will take it up early in January," the Republican from Rogers said.

Based on the facts thus far, Boozman said he doubts any Senate Republican would vote to remove Trump from office.