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Rep. Ilhan Omar released on Thursday articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, calling the president “the single greatest threat to our democracy.”
The privileged resolution (pdf), co-led by fellow Democrats including Reps. David Cicilline (R.I.), Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Jamaal Bowman (N.Y.), and Veronica Escobar (Texas), comes amid swelling calls for Trump’s ouster—using arrest, the 25th Amendment, or impeachment—in the wake of an extremist, pro-Trump mob’s Wednesday rampage through the U.S. Capitol in a failed coup attempt.
“Every day that he remains in the office of the presidency—overseeing the United States military and nuclear arsenal—is a day the safety of the American people and the world are threatened,” Omar (D-Minn.) said in a statement.
“The very administration officials who have been complicit in his crimes cannot be relied upon,” she continued. “We must impeach and remove him from office immediately so that he cannot threaten our democracy and the world any longer or hold public office ever again. Congress should reconvene immediately to carry out this constitutional duty.”
Articles of Impeachment for introduction, so proud of everyone co-leading this effort with us.
We need to move quickly to remove this President from office. pic.twitter.com/vbZtA7g6fc
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 7, 2021
The resolution lists two articles of impeachment, the first of which accuses Trump of violating his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of President of the United States through an unlawful attempt to overturn the results of the November election, which he lost to President-elect Joe Biden. The second article addresses Trump’s abuse of “the powers of the presidency to incite violence and orchestrate an attempted coup against our country”—a reference to Wednesday’s violence in the Capitol.
The resolution further points to Trump’s ginning up of the extremists when he told the crowd before the Capitol was breached: “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong,” and his comments to the mob after the attack on the building: “We love you, you’re very special.”
The urgency of this moment is real and we have to be courageous and unified in defense of our Republic. The time to stand up to a tyrant is now and history will not be kind to those who sit on the sidelines.
— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 7, 2021
“Please call the House to order and let’s get it done. Today. Right now,” Omar tweeted, a message directed at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). “The world is watching and waiting for us to act.”
Cicilline (D-R.I.) also announced Thursday the introduction of a separate impeachment resolution. That effort is being co-led by Reps. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and also points to Trump’s Wednesday incitement of violence. The resolution states that Trump “will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office.”
Progressive groups including Patriotic Millionaires have backed the call for Trump’s impeachment.
In a Thursday statement, Morris Pearl, chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, assessed Wednesday’s violence and chaos by saying that Trump “actively recruited and nurtured this group of traitors, whipped them into a violent frenzy, and directed them to attack the Capitol.”
“There must be consequences,” said Pearl. “They must be immediate. They must be severe. And they must unequivocally affirm our lawmakers’ and this nation’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law.”
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
