'A clear danger to nation': Trump impeached for second time

Amid tight security, on Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives debated the rules over beginning a second impeachment proceeding against President Donald Trump for his role in the January 6 storming of the US Capitol, as Democrats seek to remove the President before his term ends a week from now. The plan is to impeach Trump on the charge of “incitement of insurrection,” making him the first US president to be charged with doing so.

The House chaplain opened the session with a prayer for “seizing the scales of justice from the jaws of mob-ocracy.” Following procedure, it agreed by majority on the rules to begin the process of impeaching Trump for the second time—a historic first for any US president.

The legal procedure for this impeachment trial is not the same as a trial: House members are free to speed up their proceedings, as they race against the clock to get an impeachment resolution passed before Trump completes his term in office. Several Democratic Representatives abstained from speaking in a bid to speed up the vote on the issue, which was expected to pass regardless of Republic opposition due to Democrat’s control of the House.

Republican lawmakers raised questions about the impeachability of a President on the grounds of his speech, citing the First Amendment, while Democrats directly accused Trump of inciting insurrection against the government and rebellion.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer told reporters that the House would immediately send its impeachment resolution to the Senate for approval, putting the ball in the court of Senate House Majority leader Mitch McConnell to lead Republican Senators either for or against the impeachment of Trump.

This is a significant decision: Democrats could have waited till after Biden’s inauguration, a point when they would have had control of the Senate thanks to Vice President Kamala Harris’s deciding vote in the event of a tie. However, this would not have prevented Trump from serving the remainder of his time in office, though it would guarantee that he never hold a government position again—forestalling a 2024 presidential run.

I want no violence: Trump

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.