Today, Congressman Shri Thanedar (MI-13) introduced articles of impeachment against Donald J. Trump, President of the United States, citing a sweeping abuse of power, flagrant violations of the Constitution, and acts of tyranny that undermine American democracy and threaten the rule of law.
“Donald Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that he is unfit to serve as President and represents a clear and present danger to our nation’s constitution and our democracy,” said Rep. Thanedar. “His unlawful actions have subverted the justice system, violated the separation of powers, and placed personal power and self-interest above public service. We cannot wait for more damage to be done. Congress must act.”
The resolution includes seven articles of impeachment outlining a range of constitutional violations.
Impeachment is a formal process used to formally accuse a public official, including the president, of misconduct while in office. It’s a legislative action, not a court trial, and is the first step in the process of potentially removing the official from office and disqualifying them from holding future office. The House of Representatives initiates impeachment proceedings by drafting and voting on “articles of impeachment,” which are essentially charges of misconduct. If enough people in the house vote to impeach, they kick it over to the senate to have a trial. It takes 2/3 or 66% of the senate to convict before he can be removed from office. The last 2 times the house was able to vote on the articles of impeachment. When it got kicked to the senate the last 2 times, there weren’t enough votes to convict. This is because republican senators were more interested in protecting the republican party than they were the country. Most of us would rather lawfully remove Trump from office. The constitution is still important and many of us still believe in it. Even if it’s not successful, it still has a purpose. The people that vote no on impeachment are going on public record to aid an abet his crimes, potentially opening themselves up to legal consequences once trump is gone. Also, exhausting all avenues of the law makes civil disobedience more legitimate should things get bad enough to come to that.