Trump committed ‘Impeachable offenses’- top Republican says
A top U.S republican Senator, Pat Toomey, said President Trump’s role in the deadly riot at the Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters was worthy of rebuke.
Senator Toomey said he believed Trump had committed “impeachable offenses.” But he did not explicitly say whether he would vote to remove the president from office at the conclusion of a Senate trial if the House sent over articles of impeachment.
“I don’t know what they are going to send over and one of the things that I’m concerned about, frankly, is whether the House would completely politicize something,” Toomey said Saturday on Fox News Channel, speaking of the Democratic-controlled House.
Late Saturday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sent a letter to her Democratic colleagues reiterating that Trump must be held accountable but stopped short of committing to an impeachment vote.
Pelosi said House Democrats “will be proceeding with meetings with Members and Constitutional experts and others.”
The new Democratic effort to stamp Trump’s presidential record, for the second time and days before his term ends, with the indelible mark of impeachment gained more supporters on Saturday.
Rep. David Cicilline, a leader of the House effort to draft impeachment articles or charges accusing Trump of inciting insurrection, said his group had grown to include 185 co-sponsors.
Lawmakers plan to formally introduce the proposal on Monday in the House, where articles of impeachment must originate. If Democrats decide to move forward, a vote could be possible by Wednesday exactly one week before Democrat Joe Biden becomes president at noon on Jan. 20.
The articles, if passed by the House, could then be transmitted to the Senate for a trial, with senators acting as jurors who would ultimately vote on whether to acquit or convict Trump. If convicted, Trump would be removed from office and succeeded by the vice president.
Earlier on Saturday, Pelosi told her San Francisco constituents during an online video conference that it is “a decision that we have to make.”
Potentially complicating that decision is what it means for Biden and the beginning of his presidency. While reiterating that he has long viewed Trump as unfit for office, Biden on Friday sidestepped a question about impeachment, saying what Congress does “is for them to decide.”
If the House decided to impeach, the soonest the Senate could begin an impeachment trial under the current calendar would be Jan. 20, Inauguration Day.
A violent and largely white mob of Trump supporters overpowered police, broke through security lines and rampaged through the Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to scatter as they were putting the final, formal touches on Biden’s victory over Trump in the Electoral College.
Five people, including a Capitol police officer, died as a result of the siege.
After spending many weeks refusing to concede defeat in the November election, Trump promised after the Capitol riot to oversee a smooth transfer of power to Biden.
He called for reconciliation and healing, but then announced he will not attend the inauguration the first of such presidential snub since just after the Civil War.
