Updated 7:44 a.m.
Democrats have announced two articles of impeachment charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of the impeachment inquiry committees, stood at the Capitol in what she called a “solemn act.″ Voting is expected in a matter of days in the Judiciary Committee and by Christmas in the full House.
“He endangers our democracy, he endangers our national security,” said Democratic New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler, the Judiciary chairman announcing the charges before a portrait of George Washington. “Our next election is at risk... That is why we must act now.”
The charges announced Tuesday stem from Trump's pressure on Ukraine to announce investigations of his political rivals as he withheld aid to the country. Earlier Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he did “NOTHING” wrong and that impeaching a president with a record like his would be “sheer Political Madness!”
Trump, who has declined to mount a defense in the impeachment proceedings, tweeted Tuesday just as the five Democratic House committee chairmen prepared to make their announcement.
The outcome, though, appears increasingly set as the House prepares for voting, as it has only three times in history against a U.S. president.
Some liberal lawmakers wanted more expansive charges encompassing the findings from former special counsel Robert Mueller’s probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Centrist Democrats preferred to keep the impeachment articles more focused on Trump’s actions toward Ukraine.
Nadler was blunt as he opened Monday’s hearing, saying, “President Trump put himself before country.”
Read More: House Democrats Unveil 2 Articles Of Impeachment Against Trump (via NPR.org)
