A week ago, President Donald Trump fueled a violent insurrection at the Capitol. Yesterday, the House of Representatives impeached him.
The Capitol's security was heavily criticized during the riots that left at least five people dead but it was abundantly clear that no one was taking any chances during the House vote.
Security was heightened on Wednesday all around the Capitol, with barricades set several blocks from the building and law enforcement and national guard officials checking badges for anyone to enter the perimeter even by foot.
Inside the building, the contrast was even bigger. Instead of an angry mob, there were National Guard personnel, making a home in the massive Rotunda and near two entrances of the building, including the entrance typically used by the president-elect on inauguration day that just one week ago was targeted by rioters.
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OK, so the House of Representatives voted 232-197 to impeach Trump. But what does that mean? An impeachment proceeding is a formal process by which a sitting president of the United States is accused of wrongdoing—it's a political process. Not a criminal process.
The process begins in the House of Representatives. There, any member may make a suggestion to launch an impeachment proceeding. Next, the Speaker of the House, as leader of the majority party, is to determine whether or not to proceed with an inquiry into the alleged wrongdoing.
Over 210 House Democrats introduced the most recent article of impeachment on Jan. 11, 2021, contending Trump "demonstrated that he will remain a threat to national security, democracy, and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office and has acted in a manner grossly incompatible with self-governance and the rule of law."
The impeachment article also cited Trump's call with Georgia's Republican Secretary of State where the president told him to "find" enough votes for Trump to win the state and his efforts to "subvert and obstruct" certification of the vote.
It also cited the Constitution's 14th Amendment, highlighting that it "prohibits any person who has 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against' the United States" from holding office.
The vote requires a simple majority vote, which is 50% plus one (218), which impeaches the president. Trump now faces a trial on the article in the Senate.
Both the timeline of a potential Senate trial and the likelihood of conviction are still unclear. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said he won't bring back the Senate from recess before Jan. 19, which could push the trial into the beginning of the Biden administration.
The Senate is tasked with handling the impeachment trial, which is presided over by the Chief Justice of the United States. To remove a president from office, two-thirds of the members must vote in favor. While the Senate trial has the power to remove a president from office and ban them from running for future office, it can't send a president to jail.
"You all said my travel pillow wouldn't come in handy, well look how that turned out!"
!["Karen Complains To HR About My Body, I Uno-Reverse Her Complaint, [And Now] Everyone Hates Her"](https://www.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/coworker-complains-to-hr-about-womans-body-revenge-latest.jpg "\"Karen Complains To HR About My Body, I Uno-Reverse Her Complaint, [And Now] Everyone Hates Her\"")
Not my op-ed to sort out, but this makes me f*****g sick, fwiw. I have spent my whole life in this country where people just look at places like Bosnia, Syria, South Africa, Korea and so many other countries and ask themselves "how can anyone let their home turn into a militarized country like that? Camo and policing everywhere, making people adhere to curfews..." etc. THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE! Congratulations, USA, you've done it. You've managed to, ignorantly, put yourself in the same state as those countries that you bad-mouth because you "can't understand what happened". This happened. This is what that "martial" society looks like. This is what happens when you can't just remember people are, wait for it, P E O P L E. Human beings. Not Red, not Blue, not anything other than people. We've done this to ourselves and it's honestly disturbing that "no one saw it coming". smh
Trust me, I saw it coming. As soon as Trump was elected I knew it was all going to be downhill from there. But I'm in the UK, so I'm just sitting back and watching Bojack Horseman (Boris Johnson) be useless and insist that Trump was a good leader.
Anyone with an ounce of sense knew this would happen with Trump in office. Only his cult members didn’t.
suckitdolphin Good response!
suckitdolphin ?
suckitdolphin haha
Many of us in the US knew it too.
So did most of us Americans. We didn't vote for him.
While Bush II was president, life in DC, under the Patriot Act was scary. They listened to our phone calls, read our email, and followed us. They were in my home. Again, not fake news. It was confirmed in many ways. As an organizer in the anti-war protests, I needed to be watched (!?) Our local police wanted to catch those breaking the law. They were furious. Funny, those who monitored my communication must of heard my conversations with police. Anyone who attended one of my events would be safe. Many of the police were veterans and supported our cause. Respect goes both ways. That was awful. It was miserable. They invaded my personal life.
This comment has been deleted.
Condolences... <3
Me too. The idiot also said he should get a Nobel Peace Prize. WTF.
First, look up the definition of Marshall Law. Our country is not under the control of our armed forces. The National Guard, the branch of service who handles domestic issues, is in DC to protect the Capitol and our elected officials from confirmed threats. There have been death threats. If you do not work in the Capitol or an elected representative, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. The mayor set the curfew, not the military; it is the protect the citizens of the city. Our governor put a curfew in place as a last resort. The evening, crowded gatherings would not stop. Young people believe they are not at risk and do not understand the threat they pose to others. If they haven't witnessed it, it is fake news. We are not being persecuted, people aren't being locked up and tortured. Our streets are not patrolled by tanks and armed soldiers. Half my family is Czech. My father lived under communist rule.. I have been in communist countries (by mistake) You do not know what you are talking about. You insult those have suffered.
What is the definition of Marshall Law? I’m familiar with martial law and the Marshall Plan. . . .
Hello uncommon Boston thank you for having things straight.
I cant speak for other countries, but I lived the Bosnia & Herzegovina conflict as a kid and it was never a "militarized" country. Simply a country defending itself because it was that, or gettin kicked out or being executed because of your ethnicity. USA on the other hand, is a militarized country, and glorifies war and violence with the mask of patriotism, hiding a true face of national interest. You keep shoving patriotism down peoples throats, you get patri(di)ots. And this what you see now in the halls of Capitol Hill, is why US army was intended for.
Thanks for the encouragement during this difficult time.
A lot of us saw this coming as soon as trump was elected.
slowclap-6...a3c952.jpg
Thank you so much. I'm tired of people going back and forth about which party is better or which race. Who cares? There's only one race on this planet and that's human beings. God bless you
I'm sorry but its naivety at this point if you think conservatives are any better.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Democrats and liberals are just so peaceful and loving. I mean look at those peaceful protests this summer. No one was killed,, nothing was burned, looted. No statues were destroyed.
This comment has been deleted.
von Funnyname ?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yup. People who think only one side of the aisle is to blame for this are not at all seeing the bigger picture. It's hard to when you've got horse blinders on.
Just to clarify, these people are members of the National Guard, not the Army. The Guard is comprised of volunteer members at the state (not Federal) level who train twice a month, and are called in for emergencies such as protests, national disasters, etc. They are wearing uniforms, which happen to be camo, and they are just doing their job. It is disgusting that a few fringe extremists took away everything we (U.S. citizens) hold dear, and embarrassed the nation on a global scale, but please don’t criticize everyday citizens for earning a living and trying to protect our lawmakers. I am a Republican who, for the first time in 40 years, voted Democratic. Not all conservatives in this country supported Trump.
Thank you. And agreed.
The National Guard is part of the Army (and AF depending on branch). They do thr same initial training as us (Active Duty Army) they just don't do it full time afterwards. You make it sound like they aren't part of the military.
I didn’t mean, in any way, to diminish the National Guard, my point was only that they are not full time military personnel, and are not necessarily “Army” as many commenters assumed. They are also called upon by the state government (i.e, the Governor) not the Federal government (i.e., the President). As with all of our first responders, front liners, and military personnel, we Thank them for their service.
C. C. like
C. C. what
C. C. follower
I'm glad you said that. I am glad to hear someone who voted with their head vs party
Megan Curl yes
Megan Curl easy
Megan Curl follower
This is not normal. Trump really f****d up the USA big time..
How so? You mean the media lying to us for four years? You mean the democrat party claiming for four freaking years that Trump was illegitimate. You mean the democrats applauding the rioting in cities that burned down people homes and business and got maany people killed? Have we not had someone scream that an election was a fraud? Are you dense? That is all democrats have ever done. The democrats would NOT look at ANY of the evidence. Hell, it all may have been lies but no one would even consider whether the fraud claims were real. Judges NEVER even looked at it. They threw it out without looking.
Not my op-ed to sort out, but this makes me f*****g sick, fwiw. I have spent my whole life in this country where people just look at places like Bosnia, Syria, South Africa, Korea and so many other countries and ask themselves "how can anyone let their home turn into a militarized country like that? Camo and policing everywhere, making people adhere to curfews..." etc. THIS IS WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE! Congratulations, USA, you've done it. You've managed to, ignorantly, put yourself in the same state as those countries that you bad-mouth because you "can't understand what happened". This happened. This is what that "martial" society looks like. This is what happens when you can't just remember people are, wait for it, P E O P L E. Human beings. Not Red, not Blue, not anything other than people. We've done this to ourselves and it's honestly disturbing that "no one saw it coming". smh
Trust me, I saw it coming. As soon as Trump was elected I knew it was all going to be downhill from there. But I'm in the UK, so I'm just sitting back and watching Bojack Horseman (Boris Johnson) be useless and insist that Trump was a good leader.
Anyone with an ounce of sense knew this would happen with Trump in office. Only his cult members didn’t.
suckitdolphin Good response!
suckitdolphin ?
suckitdolphin haha
Many of us in the US knew it too.
So did most of us Americans. We didn't vote for him.
While Bush II was president, life in DC, under the Patriot Act was scary. They listened to our phone calls, read our email, and followed us. They were in my home. Again, not fake news. It was confirmed in many ways. As an organizer in the anti-war protests, I needed to be watched (!?) Our local police wanted to catch those breaking the law. They were furious. Funny, those who monitored my communication must of heard my conversations with police. Anyone who attended one of my events would be safe. Many of the police were veterans and supported our cause. Respect goes both ways. That was awful. It was miserable. They invaded my personal life.
This comment has been deleted.
Condolences... <3
Me too. The idiot also said he should get a Nobel Peace Prize. WTF.
First, look up the definition of Marshall Law. Our country is not under the control of our armed forces. The National Guard, the branch of service who handles domestic issues, is in DC to protect the Capitol and our elected officials from confirmed threats. There have been death threats. If you do not work in the Capitol or an elected representative, this has NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. The mayor set the curfew, not the military; it is the protect the citizens of the city. Our governor put a curfew in place as a last resort. The evening, crowded gatherings would not stop. Young people believe they are not at risk and do not understand the threat they pose to others. If they haven't witnessed it, it is fake news. We are not being persecuted, people aren't being locked up and tortured. Our streets are not patrolled by tanks and armed soldiers. Half my family is Czech. My father lived under communist rule.. I have been in communist countries (by mistake) You do not know what you are talking about. You insult those have suffered.
What is the definition of Marshall Law? I’m familiar with martial law and the Marshall Plan. . . .
Hello uncommon Boston thank you for having things straight.
I cant speak for other countries, but I lived the Bosnia & Herzegovina conflict as a kid and it was never a "militarized" country. Simply a country defending itself because it was that, or gettin kicked out or being executed because of your ethnicity. USA on the other hand, is a militarized country, and glorifies war and violence with the mask of patriotism, hiding a true face of national interest. You keep shoving patriotism down peoples throats, you get patri(di)ots. And this what you see now in the halls of Capitol Hill, is why US army was intended for.
Thanks for the encouragement during this difficult time.
A lot of us saw this coming as soon as trump was elected.
slowclap-6...a3c952.jpg
Thank you so much. I'm tired of people going back and forth about which party is better or which race. Who cares? There's only one race on this planet and that's human beings. God bless you
I'm sorry but its naivety at this point if you think conservatives are any better.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Democrats and liberals are just so peaceful and loving. I mean look at those peaceful protests this summer. No one was killed,, nothing was burned, looted. No statues were destroyed.
This comment has been deleted.
von Funnyname ?
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Yup. People who think only one side of the aisle is to blame for this are not at all seeing the bigger picture. It's hard to when you've got horse blinders on.
Just to clarify, these people are members of the National Guard, not the Army. The Guard is comprised of volunteer members at the state (not Federal) level who train twice a month, and are called in for emergencies such as protests, national disasters, etc. They are wearing uniforms, which happen to be camo, and they are just doing their job. It is disgusting that a few fringe extremists took away everything we (U.S. citizens) hold dear, and embarrassed the nation on a global scale, but please don’t criticize everyday citizens for earning a living and trying to protect our lawmakers. I am a Republican who, for the first time in 40 years, voted Democratic. Not all conservatives in this country supported Trump.
Thank you. And agreed.
The National Guard is part of the Army (and AF depending on branch). They do thr same initial training as us (Active Duty Army) they just don't do it full time afterwards. You make it sound like they aren't part of the military.
I didn’t mean, in any way, to diminish the National Guard, my point was only that they are not full time military personnel, and are not necessarily “Army” as many commenters assumed. They are also called upon by the state government (i.e, the Governor) not the Federal government (i.e., the President). As with all of our first responders, front liners, and military personnel, we Thank them for their service.
C. C. like
C. C. what
C. C. follower
I'm glad you said that. I am glad to hear someone who voted with their head vs party
Megan Curl yes
Megan Curl easy
Megan Curl follower
This is not normal. Trump really f****d up the USA big time..
How so? You mean the media lying to us for four years? You mean the democrat party claiming for four freaking years that Trump was illegitimate. You mean the democrats applauding the rioting in cities that burned down people homes and business and got maany people killed? Have we not had someone scream that an election was a fraud? Are you dense? That is all democrats have ever done. The democrats would NOT look at ANY of the evidence. Hell, it all may have been lies but no one would even consider whether the fraud claims were real. Judges NEVER even looked at it. They threw it out without looking.