Early this Friday, the House Judiciary Committee formally approved articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, which include charges of abuse of power and obstruction of duly proceeding Congressional inquiry. The scandal that sparked the impeachment included a Trump plot to exchange military aid for dirt on the Bidens from Ukraine. Early Friday, following his panel’s approval of the impeachment proclamation, Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) offered a brief statement to reporters noting the “solemnity” of the day. It constituted a fierce rebuttal to those alleging that Democrats are only pursuing impeachment because of political animosity.
Nadler shared:
‘Today is a solemn and sad day. For the third time in a little over a century and a half, the House Judiciary Committee has voted for articles of impeachment against the president — for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The House will act expeditiously. Thank you.’
Watch:
NEW: Chair Jerry Nadler makes brief remarks following passage of impeachment articles by the House Judiciary Committee. "Today is a solemn and sad day."
"The House will act expeditiously," he says. https://t.co/EPAxCIAgAY pic.twitter.com/PzBELvdngb
— ABC News (@ABC) December 13, 2019
And with that, he left the podium, seemingly without taking any further questions. The Friday morning approval followed days of intense debate over the articles of impeachment, although it’s not like Republicans ever seemed poised to win Democrats over to their side. Republicans like to talk about the “will of the people” — well, the people put a Democratic majority in the House, and now they’re trying to hold the president accountable in a way few might be truly surprised at.
Following Friday’s Judiciary Committee approval of the impeachment articles, the case will be voted on and presumably approved by the full House next week. From there, the case will proceed to the Senate, where the White House has already designated White House counsel Pat Cipollone as the president’s main defender.
