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Trump faces impeachment charges again today: All you need to know

Amid threats of violence from his supporters, Trump called the move a "witch hunt"

INDIA-US-ECONOMY-TRUMP US President Donald Trump

Democrats in the US Congress will today move forwards with a 25th Amendment resolution to impeach outgoing President Donald Trump; with this, he will become the only American president in history to be twice impeached. Trump has just a week left in office, but the move—which comes on the back of the Capitol riots that he "incited"—will render him unable to contest the 2024 elections.  

Three Democratic lawmakers had introduced the article of impeachment against Trump, charging him with inciting his supporters to carry out a violent attack on the Capitol Hill last week. Co-authored by Congressman Jamie Raskin, David Cicilline and Ted Lieu, the article of impeachment is co-sponsored by 211 members of the US House of Representatives.

The article of impeachment charges the outgoing president with a count of incitement of insurrection for his actions on January 6, when he delivered a speech inciting his supporters to lay siege to the United States Capitol, an action that temporarily halted the counting of electoral college votes and resulted in the deaths of five individuals, including an officer of the United States Capitol Police.

"Last Wednesday marked one of the darkest days in the history of our country. After months of agitation and propaganda against the results of the 2020 election, the United States Capitol, the citadel of our democracy, was attacked as President Trump's supporters attempted to stage a coup and overturn the results of our free and fair presidential election," said the co-authors of the articles of impeachment, who serve together on the House Judiciary Committee.

"We cannot allow this unprecedented provocation to go unanswered. Everyone involved in this assault must be held accountable, beginning with the man most responsible for it President Donald Trump. We cannot begin to heal the soul of this country without first delivering swift justice to all its enemies foreign and domestic," they said.

Republican Party divided on impeachment proceedings

Cracks appeared in the Republican Party as three of its lawmakers announced their decision to vote in favour of the motion. Congresswoman Liz Cheney, the third-most powerful Republican lawmaker in the House of Representatives, was the first GOP leader to announce that she will vote to impeach Trump.

"The president of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the president. The president could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not," she said.

Cheney was soon followed by Republican Congressmen Adam Kinzinger and John Katko.

Trump calls the move injustice

Trump on Tuesday said that the impeachment proceedings against him being moved forward by the Democrats is ridiculous and is continuation of the greatest witch hunt in American political history. "It is really a continuation of the greatest witch hunt in the history of politics. It is ridiculous. It is absolutely ridiculous," Trump told reporters at the White House in his first public reaction after the Democrats moved articles of impeachment against him in the House of Representatives on Monday.

"This impeachment is causing tremendous anger, and you're doing it, and it's really a terrible thing that they're doing. For Nancy Pelosi [House Speaker] and Chuck Schumer [Senate Minority Leader] to continue on this path, I think it's causing tremendous danger to our country and it's causing tremendous anger. I want no violence," Trump said.

There is growing concern among law enforcement authorities about violence in the lead-up to and during president-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on January 20. The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington in the days leading up to Biden's inauguration. An internal FBI bulletin warned that, as of Sunday, the nationwide protests may start later in the week and extend through Biden's January 20 inauguration, according to news agency AP. Investigators believe some of the people are members of some extremist groups. 

Earlier, the Republicans had blocked a Democratic request for unanimous consent to take up legislation by Congressman Jamie Raskin calling on the vice-president to mobilise the cabinet to activate the 25th Amendment to remove the president. House Democratic Leader Steny Hoyer introduced a unanimous consent request to take up legislation by Congressman Raskin.

"The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the president's unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our democracy, and it must end," Pelosi had then said.

-Inputs from agencies

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