Washington, D.C. –Today, Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and the House Judiciary Committee introduced two articles of impeachment against President Donald J. Trump for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress. The articles can be found here.
“The President abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to help his re-election campaign. For members of Congress this is not a question of fact, because the facts are not seriously contested. It is rather a question of duty. The President’s oath of office appears to mean little to him. But the articles put forward today will give us a chance to show that we will defend the constitution, and that our oath means something to us,” said Chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Adam Schiff (D-CA).
“The facts are uncontested that the President abused his office and threatened our national security to cheat in the 2020 election—then he obstructed Congress’s exercise of its constitutional impeachment powers. It’s regrettable that the President’s own actions have brought us to this point, and I strongly support Chairman Nadler and my Judiciary Committee colleagues as we take these next solemn steps,” said Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel (D-NY).
“We are fulfilling our constitutional duty to hold the president accountable for abusing public office and misusing public funds for his personal, political gain,” said Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY).
Below are Chairman Nadler’s remarks announcing the introduction of articles of impeachment:
“Over the last several months, the investigative committees of the House have been engaged in an impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump’s efforts to solicit foreign interference in the 2020 elections—efforts that compromised our national security and threatened the integrity of our elections. Throughout this inquiry, he has attempted to conceal the evidence from Congress and the American people.
“Our President holds the ultimate public trust. When he betrays that trust, and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution, he endangers our democracy and he endangers our national security. The Framers prescribed a clear remedy for Presidents who violate their Oath of Office. That is the power of impeachment.
“Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment charging the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, with committing high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
“The first article is for Abuse of Power. It is an impeachable offense for the President to exercise the powers of his public office to obtain an improper personal benefit, while ignoring or injuring the national interest.
“That is exactly what President Trump did when he solicited and pressured Ukraine to interfere in our 2020 Presidential Election—thus damaging our national security, undermining the integrity of the next election, and violating his oath to the American people. These actions, moreover, were consistent with President Trump’s previous invitations of foreign interference in our 2016 Presidential election.
“And when he was caught—when the House investigated and opened an impeachment inquiry—President Trump engaged in unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of the impeachment inquiry.
“This gives rise to the second article of impeachment for Obstruction of Congress. Here, too, we see a familiar pattern in President Trump’s misconduct. A President who declares himself above accountability, above the American people, and above Congress’s power of impeachment—which is meant to protect against threats to our democratic institutions—is a President who sees himself as above the law.
“We must be clear: no one, not even the President, is above the law.
“I want to recognize the great contributions of the investigative chairs, particularly Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, Foreign Affairs Chairman Eliot Engel, the Committee on Oversight and Reform’s former Chairman, the late Elijah Cummings, and its new Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, Financial Services Chairwoman Maxine Waters, and Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal, who helped lay the foundation for the articles we are introducing today. I also want to thank my Judiciary Committee colleagues, who were critical in our work to hold the President accountable and in the drafting of these articles.
“Later this week, the Judiciary Committee will meet to consider these articles of impeachment, and to make a recommendation to the full House of Representatives. We do not take this action lightly. But we have taken an oath to defend the Constitution and—unlike President Trump—we understand that our duty, first and foremost, is to protect the Constitution and the interests of the American people. That is why we must take this solemn step today.
“Elections are the cornerstone of democracy and are foundational to the rule of law. But the integrity of our next election is at risk from a President who has already sought foreign interference in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and who consistently puts himself above country. That is why we must act now.”