US, Dec 16 :
“Do we have a constitutional democracy, or do we have a monarchy, where the president is unaccountable?” said Democratic Representative Jerry Nadler and added that, “That’s what’s at stake here.” Nadler said that President Donald Trump’s misconduct amounted to “a crime in progress” that threatens US democracy, as the full House prepares for a historic vote on impeachment.
Trump poses a “clear and present danger” to democracy, Adam Schiff said. Nadler expressed anger with Senate Republicans who said they had already made up their mind to exonerate the president in the Senate trial expected next month, without even hearing evidence or testimony. The democrats might be in control of the House, but, the Senate, which is in Republican hands might choose not to vote Trump out of the White House. Trump is expected to become only the third US president to be impeached after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 just before a House impeachment vote. Neither Johnson nor Clinton was convicted in the Senate. Trump is counting on the Republican majority in the Senate to exonerate him. In repeated tweets Sunday he mocked the impeachment process. He retweeted a conservative commentator who said, “The President did nothing wrong here. There is no crime,” and then added “Impeachment Hoax!” “Impeachment is not a punishment for past behaviour. This president conspired — sought foreign interference in the 2016 election. He is openly seeking foreign interference in the 2020 election,” Nadler said painting a dire picture of what is at stake. House Democrats who initiated the impeachment process have feared that moderate members of the party from Trump-friendly districts could lose their seats next year if they vote to impeach. Jeff Van Drew a Democrat from New Jersey, who has been a vocal opponent of impeachment, is expected to switch allegiance to the Republican Party in coming days. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a Trump confidant, said “I’m not trying to pretend to be a fair juror here,” dismissing the charges against Trump as “partisan nonsense.”
Republican Senator Ted Cruz said, “I think this is the beginning of the end for this show trial that we’ve seen in the House.”
Besides the main charge against President Trump of conditioning military aid to Ukraine on the nation’s officials launching investigations into his Democrat rival Joe Biden ahead of the presidential election, other charges include obstructing Congress for refusing to cooperate with the inquiry and ordering other officials not to appear, a development Democrats say is unprecedented in American history.
