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House 'will proceed' with legislation to impeach Donald Trump

House speaker Nancy Pelosi says the House of Representatives "will proceed" with bringing legislation to impeach United States President Donald Trump, according to The Associated Press.

Pelosi reportedly made the announcement in a letter to colleagues Sunday evening.

It has never happened in U.S. history, but a growing number of lawmakers believe there is a first time for everything.

On Sunday, House speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the House of Representatives “will proceed” with bringing legislation to impeach President Donald Trump for a second time.

The fallout continues in Washington after an attack on the U.S. Capitol Wednesday caused significant damage and left five people dead, including a U.S. Capitol police officer. Trump has been accused of sedition for encouraging the large crowd to march on the Capitol and disrupt Congress' process of certifying Joe Biden's election win.

Now, as reported by CNN, many Democrats in Congress, and some Republicans, have called on Trump to resign before he leaves office on January 20, or face a second impeachment.

"It is the hope of Members that the President will immediately resign. But if he does not, I have instructed the Rules Committee to be prepared to move forward with Congressman Jamie Raskin's 25th Amendment legislation and a motion for impeachment," said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

The bill from Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland, called for a commission on the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which lays out the pecking order and procedure for succession if a president or vice-president dies, resigns, becomes incapacitated, or is judged to be unfit to hold the office.

The vice-president has the power to invoke the 25th Amendment with the majority approval of the Cabinet and remove the president for being unfit to hold the office. However, Vice-President Mike Pence has indicated he is not interested in that option.

Given the usual timeline for an impeachment process, it is not likely that it will be completed before Joe Biden is sworn in as the new president on January 20, though Pelosi told CNN the House has the power to impeach even with less than two weeks left in Trump's term.

Apparently egged on by Trump, the large crowd marched on the Capitol Wednesday with the hope of disrupting the congressional task of certifying Biden's Electoral College win. The crowd broke through police lines, gained entry to the building, ransacked offices, smashed windows, and clashed with police officers. One woman died after being shot by a police officer, a Capitol officer died after receiving injuries, and three people died from medical emergencies.

Trump has been the target of anger and resentment from people in both parties. Following the siege, key members of his administration have resigned, including Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, and Stephanie Grisham, chief of staff for First Lady Melania Trump.

Trump was acquitted last year, when he was accused of abusing his office by pressuring Ukraine to begin an investigation of Biden and one of his sons, in exchange for needed military aid. The president was also accused of ordering members of his administration not to comply with duly issued congressional subpoenas. Trump repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

No president has ever been removed from office this way, though Andrew Johnson was acquitted in 1868 for violating the Tenure of Office Act, and Bill Clinton was exonerated in 1999 for lying to a grand jury about an extramarital affair with a White House intern. Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House could vote on articles drawn up due to his handling of the Watergate affair.

Trump announced on Friday that he will not attend Biden's inauguration, becoming the first outgoing president since Nixon to not attend his successor's swearing-in. Also, Twitter has permanently suspended Trump's account, "due to the risk of further incitement of violence," according to the social media giant.

- With files from Mark Brown.

 

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