Data Download: The Numbers You Need To Know Today
10: The number of House Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump on Wednesday
Less than one percentage point: The closest margin of victory in 2020 for any of those 10, for Rep. David Valadao, who won his California seat back from Democrat TJ Cox after being defeated by a narrow margin in 2018.
44 percentage points: The widest margin of victory in the 2020 general election for any of those ten, for Wyoming at-large Rep. Liz Cheney.
Eight out of 10: The number of House Republicans voting for impeachment who won their 2020 general election by more than 10 percentage points.
Eight out of 10: The number of House Republicans voting for impeachment whose congressional districts were won by Donald Trump.
Three out of 10: The number of House Republicans voting for impeachment whose states have a nonpartisan top-two primary process.
1: The number of House Republicans voting for impeachment who also objected to certification of the electoral votes last week.
23,184,222: The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States, per the most recent data from NBC News and health officials.
385,698: The number of deaths in the United States from the virus so far.
130,383: The number of people currently hospitalized with coronavirus.
273.75 million: The number of coronavirus tests that have been administered in the United States so far, according to researchers at The COVID Tracking Project.
6: The number of days until Inauguration Day.
Its Not At All Clear Where We Are
Melanie Sloan, a former federal prosecutor, said it remains unclear how many witnesses will be called to testify in Trumps trial.
Are there going to be depositions? Are there going to be witnesses who speak before the Senate? I think its not at all clear where we are, Sloan told Al Jazeera, adding she believed no more than five witnesses would be called.
She said Republicans push to call Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as a witness is not something that will go well for the party.
That undoubtedly will work to the benefit of the House managers case. Nancy Pelosi also was calling for help throughout the January 6 insurrection, so its hard to see how that works in their favour.
The Presidential Impeachment Process
An impeachment proceeding is the formal process by which a sitting president of the United States is accused of wrongdoing. It is a political process and not a criminal process.
The articles of impeachment are the list of charges drafted against the president. The vice president and all civil officers of the U.S. can also face impeachment.
The process begins in the House of Representatives, where any member may make a suggestion to launch an impeachment proceeding. It is really up to the speaker of the House in practice, to determine whether or not to proceed with an inquiry into the alleged wrongdoing, though any member can force a vote to impeach.
Over 210 House Democrats introduced the most recent article of impeachment on Jan. 11, 2021, contending Trump “demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law.”
The impeachment article, which seeks to bar Trump from holding office again, also cited Trump’s controversial call with the Georgia Republican secretary of state where he urged him to “find” enough votes for Trump to win the state and his efforts to “subvert and obstruct” certification of the vote.
And it cited the Constitution’s 14th Amendment, noting that it “prohibits any person who has ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against’ the United States” from holding office.
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Ten House Republicans Vote In Favor Of Impeaching Trump
Still, even without his Twitter account, even with just six days left in office, even after last weeks violence and even with U.S. troops in the U.S. Capitol, an overwhelming majority of House Republicans stood by Trump.
But while the impeachment vote didnt upend GOP views of Trump at least in the House it did result in:
- Republicans admitting that Joe Biden won, which was something many were still fighting a week ago
- Some Republicans also acknowledging Trumps responsibility for last weeks insurrection
- Trump releasing a video condemning political violence
- And Trump becoming the first American president to be impeached twice in just a single term.
One other observation from yesterday: With a few exceptions like McCarthy and Steve Scalise the House Republicans who were defending Trump and opposing his impeachment on the House floor were members of the House Freedom Caucus.
The House GOPs other party leaders and many of their committee chairs didnt speak, suggesting a sizable gap between leadership and the rank-and-file.
But as impeachment moves to a Senate trial, the question we have: Are 10 House GOP defections worth 20 Senate GOP defections?
Or just five or six?
The answer will determine if Trump gets convicted or if he escapes it again.
Start With Pelosi: Republicans Want Top Democrat To Testify
US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he was in favour of calling multiple witnesses in Trumps impeachment trial, including Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
We can start with Speaker Pelosi to answer the question as to whether or not there was credible evidence of preplanned violence before President Trump spoke? Graham tweeted. Her testimony is incredibly relevant to the incitement charge.
Republican Senator Ted Cruz also called for Pelosi to testify.
We can start with Speaker Pelosi to answer the question as to whether or not there was credible evidence of pre-planned violence before President Trump spoke?
Lindsey Graham
13 Feb 2021 – 16:50 GMT
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Trump’s Attorneys Close Out Their Case
As he started out his closing statement, Trump attorney Michael van der Veen said the former president’s team does not stipulate the truthfulness of the statement from Jaime Herrea Beutler.
Van der Veen then resorted to attacking the House impeachment managers, falsely claiming they never mentioned the Constitution and distorted evidence.
Van der Veen insisted that no one could have interpreted Mr. Trump’s January 6 speech as anything other than peaceful. He also suggested that some of the people who attacked the Capitol were already at the Capitol when Mr. Trump was speaking.
He claimed the protesters “hijacked” the event for their own purposes, even though those who stormed the Capitol have identified themselves as Trump supporters.
Van der Veen said the entire impeachment has been a “charade” from beginning to end.
“You do not have to indulge the impeachment lust, the dishonesty and the hypocrisy,” van der Veen said.
Burr Explains Surprise Guilty Vote
Senator Richard Burr voted to convict Mr. Trump on the article of impeachment, a surprise vote from the Republican from North Carolina. Burr, who is retiring in 2022, said in a statement that “the facts are clear” that the former president incited the riot on January 6.
“I do not make this decision lightly, but I believe it is necessary. By what he did and what he did not do, President Trump violated his oath of office to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Burr said. “My hope is that with today’s vote, America can begin to move forward and focus on the critical issues facing our country today.”
Senators Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse, and Patrick Toomey also voted to convict.
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Whats Crowdstrike And The Server And What Is Its Role In The Ukraine Scandal
A subplot to both Trumps call with Zelensky and his broader approach to Ukraine is his apparent belief that a company called Crowdstrike has ties to Ukraine and that it possibly stashed a Democratic National Committee server that was hacked during the 2016 elections. Trump would like the Ukrainians to hand this over to the US government.
This is a reference to a conspiracy theory that rolls together a couple of misperceptions.
That starts with the fact that Crowdstrike has nothing to do with Ukraine. Its an American company whose co-founder was born in Russia but emigrated to the US as a kid. Crowdstrike was hired by the Democratic National Committee to help investigate the hacking of their email during the 2016 campaign, and Trump is disturbed by the fact that the DNC did not turn a physical server over to the FBI or anyone else. Critically, there is no server that could be hidden in Ukraine because the DNC used a modern cloud-based distributed email setup.
But the notion Trump is alluding to is the idea that the DNC was not really hacked by Russian actors at all. Instead, that attribution was faked by the allegedly Ukraine-linked Crowdstrike, which then hid the evidence as part of a larger plot to frame both Trump and the Russian government. Trump has time and again sought to exonerate Russia of culpability for computer crimes in 2016, and his interest in Crowdstrike seems to be part of that larger agenda.
Did you know?
Impeachment Of Donald Trump
Impeachment of Donald Trump may refer to:
- First impeachment of Donald Trump, the 2019 impeachment on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress
- This page was last edited on 12 February 2021, at 04:45 .
- Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
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The I Newsletter Cut Through The Noise
It is not the first time Trump has been impeached by the House of Representatives – the president faced a Senate trial in 2020 for an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Here’s all you need to know.
Why was Trump impeached the first time?
On 18 December 2019, Trump, the 45th president of the US, was impeached for an abuse of power and obstruction of Congress by the House.
This stemmed from a phone call Trump made to the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, encouraging him to dig up dirt on political rival Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Biden jr worked for a Ukranian energy company when his father was US vice president under Barack Obama.
Trump’s administration was accused of withholding military aid from Ukraine at around that time and a White House meeting for Zelensky.
The House’s judiciary committee said Trump had “betrayed the nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections”.
But he was acquitted by the Senate on 5 February 2020, on a near party-line vote. Senator Mitt Romney, a Republican from Utah, was the only one to break party ranks.
What does impeachment mean?
Impeachment, in US politics, is a charge of misconduct made against a public official or president.
It is a political process – not a criminal one – which is the first of a two step action which has the power to remove a current president from office.
Trump Was Acquitted But Didn’t Get Exactly What He Wanted
The president pushed for a flashy, testimony-filled impeachment trial to embarrass Democrats and vindicate himself.
02/05/2020 04:39 PM EST
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President Donald Trumps aides just got what they wanted: a quick, drama-free impeachment trial. But its not the trial Trump wanted.
Ever the showman, Trump had pushed for a flashy, testimony-filled trial, to embarrass Democrats and vindicate himself, even if he is ultimately pleased with how the trial has gone. He mused about testifying himself or maybe just taking a front row seat and watching.
The Senate on Wednesday voted to acquit Trump without . It’s an outcome that the White House has pushed for, but one that some Trump allies say could cause the president to lash out and say, I told you so as he starts seeing cable news coverage of Democrats and even some Republicans lamenting that the trial format was broken, riven by partisanship and incapable of delivering a true verdict on Trump’s behavior.
If thats the lions share of the media coverage, sure, he wont like that coverage, said Matt Schlapp, a Trump supporter and chairman of the conservative group American Conservative Union.
But even those that acknowledge Trump could get frustrated with the criticism say the president has come to terms with what they say is inevitable: Democrats will always find a reason to criticize him.
And even before the trial ended, Democratic leaders were the trial a sham.
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Most Republicans Who Voted To Convict Aren’t Up For Reelection Until At Least 2024 Or Aren’t Running For Reelection
Most of the Republicans who voted to convict Mr. Trump are not up for reelection until at least 2024, or are not running for reelection.
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is the only Republican who voted to convict Mr. Trump who is also up for reelection in 2022.
Senator Richard Burr isn’t running for reelection. Senator Bill Cassidy isn’t up for reelection until 2026. Susan Collins is up for reelection in 2026. Mitt Romney isn’t up for reelection until 2024. Ben Sasse isn’t up for reelection until 2026. Senator Pat Toomey isn’t running for reelection.
How Did Democrats React
Democrats expressed concern that acquittal would further embolden a president whom they depict as a demagogue.
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Mr Trump remains “an ongoing threat to American democracy” and that Senate Republicans had “normalised lawlessness”
- Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said there will always be “a giant asterisk next to the president’s acquittal”
- “No doubt, the president will boast he received total exoneration,” said the New York senator. “But we know better.”
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Raskin Ends Democrats’ Closing Arguments: Godspeed To The Senate Of The United States
House impeachment manager Jamie Raskin concluded with a personal anecdote, recalling a conversation he had with his daughter, Hannah, who sympathized with the children of the rioters who mounted the assault on the Capitol and also may not have returned home to their families. His daughter, Raskin said, cut through the politics and legality of the situation, and saw “all the way to the humanity of the situation, the morality of the situation.”
“We must recognize and exercise these crimes against our nation and then we must take care of our people and our children, their hearts and their minds,” he said.
Raskin implored senators to vote according to the truth and questioned whether members would do more to defend the law enforcement officers who protected them January 6 and endured violence and racist slurs, beyond giving them medals.
“Is this America? Is this what we want to bequeath to our children and our grandchildren?” he said.
Raskin said that regardless of whether senators came to Washington to work on defense or agriculture, for example, their vote on impeachment is how they will be remembered.
“That might not be fair, it really might not be fair, but none of us can escape the demands of history and destiny right now,” he said.
Raskin concluded the Democrats’ closing arguments by citing Thomas Paine, for whom his late son, Thomas Raskin, was named after.
