House Democrats file five articles of impeachment against Trump News
House Democrats file five articles of impeachment against Trump

Five House Democrats on Wednesday introduced [press release] five new Articles of Impeachment [text, PDF] against President Donald Trump. Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen [official website] sponsored the measure, joined by Luis Gutierrez of Illinois, Al Green of Texas, Marcia Fudge of Ohio, Adriano Espaillat of New York and John Yarmuth [official websites] of Kentucky.

The representatives submitted five Articles of Impeachment [official summary], alleging that Trump obstructed justice through the firing of former-FBI Director James Comey, received foreign foreign payments and gifts through his hotels and business ventures, received domestic emoluments including payments by the US government to Trump-owned properties, undermined the federal judiciary and the rule of law including by pardoning [JURIST reports] former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and undermined the freedom of the press including by repeatedly referring to “fake news.”

Cohen said of the articles

The time has come to make clear to the American people and to this President that his train of injuries to our Constitution must be brought to an end through impeachment. … It’s time for Congress to take action to stop this reckless and harmful behavior by removing Mr. Trump from office and to defend and uphold the Constitution of the United States.

The resolution comes after Green stated last week that the House of Representatives would vote on the president’s impeachment before Christmas [CSPAN video].

Green co-sponsored an earlier impeachment resolution [JURIST report] with California Representative Brad Sherman [official website] in July, asserting that Trump obstructed justice through his conversations with, and subsequent firing of, Comey. All of the sponsors of Wednesday’s resolution are also among the nearly 200 lawmakers [JURIST report] who have filed suit against Trump for violating the Emoluments Clause [text] of the US Constitution.