Trump Impeached By House For Abuse Of Power And Obstruction Of Congress.

U.S. President Donald Trump Impeached By The House Of Representatives For Abuse Of Power

President Trump entered the history books in a new category Wednesday: He is the third president in U.S. history to have been impeached by the House. The two votes on impeachment bring to an end the House’s months-long inquiry into whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to conduct investigations that would benefit him politically.

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to impeach President Donald Trump on both articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. The vote followed weeks of testimony related to his dealings with Ukraine and hours of fiery debate over the process.

Trump is only the third president in U.S. history to be impeached. Follow us here for all of the latest breaking news and analysis on impeachment from NBC News’ political reporters, as well as our teams on Capitol Hill and at the White House.

TRUMP IMPEACHMENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Dozens of House members uttered tens of thousands of words during Wednesday’s marathon and historic impeachment debate. Here are some of the buzziest.
• President Trump sent a rambling six-page letter Tuesday to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, calling Congress’ impeachment inquiry a partisan “crusade,” an “unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power” and a “spiteful” “election-nullification scheme.” Click here to read the full letter.
• The House Judiciary Committee released its full 658-page report just after midnight Sunday, in which the majority calls Trump the “Framers’ worst nightmare.”
• Read the details revealed in the House Intelligence Committee’s weeks of impeachment hearings.

President Donald Trump didn’t get away with it — at least, not without paying a price.

In the lowest moment of his presidency so far, the House impeached Trump Wednesday on charges that he solicited foreign help in his re-election campaign, using taxpayer dollars as leverage, at the expense of national security interests and then covered it all up.

“This was, quite simply, a geopolitical shakedown,” Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., said.

The particulars of the two articles of impeachment — falling under the headings of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — are unquestionably more serious than those levied against Presidents Andrew Johnson, who was impeached along party lines in three days, and Bill Clinton. The articles alluded to a broader pattern of behavior that lawmakers described as rife with corrupt self-dealing and cover-ups.

While Trump and his Republican loyalists in the House insist that he is a blameless victim who will be exonerated by the Senate in the winter and voters next fall, there will now be a big black asterisk emblazoned next to his name in ledger of American history.

Source: NBC News | Washington Post