Rep. Al Green (D-TX) introduced articles of impeachment against President Trump as Democrats continue seeking challenges to the Trump administration ahead of the midterm elections.
“President Trump has used ICE and CBP to suppress the First Amendment rights to free speech and a free press; violate the Fourth Amendment right to privacy and protections against unlawful searches and excessive force; and defy the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment guarantees of due process and equal protection by allowing and encouraging racially targeted arrests, unjustified detentions, and unjustified killings,” the resolution says. “President Trump, by his conduct, continues to demonstrate that he is a great threat to democracy, the United States Constitution, and the democratic republic, by dangerously flouting constitutional rights.”
The articles cite Trump’s actions with ICE and CBP as evidence for his “threat to democracy.”
In November of last year, Green sought his fifth impeachment effort against Trump. “We cannot allow anything to get in the way of impeachment, conviction, and removal. That’s what this is about,” he told reporters. “Impeachment, conviction, and removal.”
Several Democrats later voted alongside Republicans to table the articles. The final vote was 237 to 140, with 47 “present” votes.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar issued a joint statement at the time explaining their “present” vote.
“Impeachment is a sacred constitutional vehicle designed to hold a corrupt executive accountable for abuse of power, breaking the law and violating the public trust. The effort traditionally requires a comprehensive investigative process, the collection and review of thousands of documents, an exacting scrutiny of the facts, the examination of dozens of key witnesses, Congressional hearings, sustained public organizing and the marshaling of the forces of democracy to build a broad national consensus,” the lawmakers wrote.
“None of that serious work has been done, with the Republican majority focused solely on rubber stamping Donald Trump’s extreme agenda,” the statement continued. “Accordingly, we will be voting ‘present’ on today’s motion to table the impeachment resolution as we continue our fight to make life more affordable for everyday Americans.”
