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
- From solemnity to anger to hyperbole, here are some of the buzziest lines from the historic House debate on Wednesday.
- 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.
GOP Rep. Loudermilk: Jesus 'afforded more rights' than Trump
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., said Wednesday that Jesus was treated more fairly than Trump.
"When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers," Loudermilk said from the House floor. "During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than Democrats have afforded this president in this process."
Trump did not go quite so far in his comparisons regarding the impeachment process, saying in a letter to Pelosi on Tuesday that he was being afforded less due process than those accused of witchcraft in the Salem witch trials.
Later during the floor debate, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., tweeted a response to Loudermilk, referring to Romans 1:25, which reads: "They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen."
'Learn some history': Mayor of Salem, Mass., blasts Trump over witch trials
The mayor of Salem, Massachusetts, said President Donald Trump needs to "learn some history" after he claimed those accused in the city's infamous 17th century witch trials received more due process than he has in the House impeachment inquiry.
Mayor Kim Driscoll, a Democrat, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that the trials in 1692 included "powerless, innocent victims" who were "hanged or pressed to death" on scant evidence.
Twenty people suspected of witchcraft were killed in Salem, a coastal city about 20 miles north of Boston, during a frenzy stoked by superstition, fear of disease and strangers, and jealousy. Nineteen were hanged, and one man was crushed by rocks.
Trump, Driscoll said, is a powerful world leader and the allegations against him come with "ample evidence" and "admissions of wrongdoing."
"Right, will they ever learn some history?" Driscoll wrote in a follow-up tweet. "This situation is much different than the plight of the witch trial victims, who were convicted using spectral evidence + then brutally hanged or pressed to death. A dubious legal process that bears no relation to televised impeachment."
In a six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, Trump slammed Democrats for seeking to impeach him.
"More due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials," he complained. "One hundred years from now, when people look back at this affair, I want them to understand it, and learn from it, so that it can never happen to another President again."
For the full story click here
Republican Rep. Rooney calls for White House aides to testify and Democrats to slow down
Rep. Francis Rooney, R-Fla., who said Wednesday that he would against both articles of impeachment, told NBC News in a phone interview that he wants Trump aides who the White House has refused to make available during the House hearings to testify in the Senate impeachment trial.
“It bothers me, yes,” Rooney said Wednesday. “It’s making it hard on everybody. … They seem to want to play this subpoena-executive privilege game.”
Democrats have consistently complained about an "unprecedented" lack of cooperation from the White House.
Rooney, one of the last Republicans to announce how he would vote on impeachment, said that he took his vote “very seriously,” and that he did “exhaustive” research on Watergate, which he called the model, and President Bill Clinton’s impeachment. He said he also talked to former White House counsels.
He said Trump’s conduct is “not good” and criticized him for “beating up” on former Ukraine Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and Ukraine's president, and for deprecating our foreign service officers “who are suffering great hardship.”
However, he expressed skepticism about how the Democrats have run the inquiry.
He said if the aides are refusing to talk, the Democrats should “look beyond emotion” and “work through it” in court “so you can create a case for the American people.”
He said the president’s actions and the process are setting “very bad precedents,” and the remedy may just have to be the ballot box.
Congress, he said, should get to work, including “getting after those Russians for trying to influence our election.”
The Mueller investigation didn't start in Congress
Nadler retorts, 'The new president would be Mike Pence, not Hillary Clinton' if Trump is removed; Republicans cheer
Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, zinged Republican Rep. Chris Stewart of Utah after he slammed Democrats for trying to nullify the election through impeachment.
“They think Hillary Clinton should be president and they want to fix that,” Stewart had said, arguing that the impeach inquiry is a maneuver to “take away my vote.”
Nadler shot back, “I would remind the gentleman that if President Trump is removed the new president would be Mike Pence, not Hillary Clinton.”
Several Republicans cheered and clapped after Nadler's remarks, including Oversight Committee member Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Judiciary ranking Republican Doug Collins of Georgia.
Sarah Sanders: Pelosi 'too weak' to stand up to liberals in Democratic Party
Former White House press secretary Sarah Sanders weighed in on today's impeachment debate, slamming Pelosi as being "too weak to stand up to the angry liberals in her party."
Trump appears to be watching, tweets: 'THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA'
Trump appears to be paying close attention to Wednesday's impeachment proceedings, tweeting, "SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS."
"THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!" he continued as the House debated Wednesday afternoon.
Moments earlier, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told the press pool that Trump "will be working all day."
"He will be briefed by staff throughout that day, and could catch some of the proceedings between meetings," she continued.
Rep. Jayapal: 'The president is the smoking gun'
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., reprised a line she used during House Judiciary Committee impeachment debate last week.
Trump, Jayapal said, “solicited foreign interference before, he is doing it now, and he will do it again.”
“The president is the smoking gun,” she said.
Matthews: This isn't a fact finding mission, it's a roll-call vote to see what party you're in
Dems Gabbard and Serrano, Republicans Hunter and Shimkus haven't cast votes yet Wednesday
Two House Democrats have not yet voted Wednesday: Reps. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii and José Serrano of New York.
Gabbard, who's running for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, said in a TV interview Tuesday in South Carolina that she was still "thinking through" how she planned to vote on the articles of impeachment. Gabbard added that she had "a lot of concerns" about any "partisan-driven impeachment process" that further divides an already divided country.
She also said in separate remarks Tuesday that she planned to introduce a resolution that would censure the president.
Serrano has Parkinson's disease and announced in March that he would not seek re-election in 2020.
"Unfortunately, my recovery has not progressed as quickly as I had hoped," he said in a statement explaining his absence. "I am continuing to address health issues related to my Parkinson's diagnosis, and other recent health concerns," including the need for prostate surgery this week.
"I have been monitoring the process from home however, and were I there, I would vote to impeach Donald Trump on both counts. His actions in office have undermined our national security, our democratic processes, and our Constitution.
"While it is difficult to miss these important votes, I trust my colleagues to make the right choices to protect our nation, our laws and our democracy."
Other members that have not voted Wednesday include Reps. John Shimkus, R-Ill., and Duncan Hunter, R-Calif. The Ethics Committee has said Hunter can't vote because he pleaded guilty this year to campaign finance violations.
Shimkus, who's retiring from Congress, said in a statement Wednesday that before the impeachment votes were scheduled, he had planned a trip to Africa with his wife to visit their son in Tanzania.
"At the White House last week I informed President Trump that I would not be present for the these votes, and he was supportive of me visiting my son," Shimkus said. "I told him I did not support his impeachment, and I have requested that this statement of my reasons for opposing both articles of impeachment be entered into the Congressional Record."
The offices of Gabbard and Hunter did not immediately respond to NBC News' request for comment.
High-profile Trump allies being considered to defend Trump in Senate trial
Four sources familiar with the matter tell NBC News that several high-profile House Republicans are being considered to be part of the team that would defend the president in a Senate trial: Oversight Committee ranking member Jim Jordan of Ohio, Oversight member Mark Meadows of North Carolina, Intelligence and Judiciary member John Ratcliffe of Texas, and Judiciary member Mike Johnson of Louisiana.
White House counsel Pat Cipollone would still likely lead the effort. However, no decision has been made while the president considers his options, sources say, with one official describing the discussions as “fluid” right now.
While the signals from the Senate side suggest formal witnesses are unlikely to be called at this point, one source adds that the White House is also considering trying to have House Republicans — such as Judiciary ranking member Doug Collins, R-Ga. — serve as witnesses in some capacity to speak about the closed-door testimony they’ve heard and documents they’ve reviewed, and argue it amounted to nothing substantive.
Nadler outlines arguments underpinning articles
Citing a “clear pattern of wrongdoing,” Nadler focused his speech mostly on the substance of House Democrats’ arguments underpinning each of the articles of impeachment — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — against Trump.
“To our founding generation, abuse of power was a specific, well-defined offense,” he said.
Nadler, the House Judiciary Chairman, said Trump’s dealings in Ukraine were not based on “any legitimate national security or foreign policy interest” and that the “evidence” against him “exactly” fits the Founders’ definition of abuse of power.
“For this alone, he should be impeached,” Nadler said.
Collins: 'The people of America see through this'
Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., delivered a familiar argument against the impeachment inquiry, saying that Democrats are beholden to the “clock and the calendar” and were ramming through the inquiry because they fear Trump at the ballot box.
“The clock and the calendar are terrible masters,” he said. “They do not care about facts.”
Collins, the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, again claimed that the president did nothing wrong because Ukraine said there was no pressure and was unaware of the hold on military aid. He said Republicans have no problem taking their case to the American people and letting the voters decide, but he said Democrats were using the impeachment inquiry to kneecap Trump in his re-election bid because they lost the 2016 election.
“It has trampled everything this House believes in,” he said. “The people of America see through this, the people of America understand due process, and they understand when it is being trampled in the people’s House.”
Tours of U.S. Capitol still underway for visitors
Tours of the U.S. Capitol were still being held Wednesday morning and afternoon as the House debated the articles of impeachment.
Groups of tourists sat above the House floor in the gallery observing the proceedings, including when the House voted to approve the rule for six hours of debate that will lead to the final votes on the articles.
Visitors were also seen touring the Capitol Rotunda, the hallway that leads past House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and Statuary Hall, where a number of TV cameras were set up for live shots and interviews with lawmakers.
Pelosi kicks off debate speeches: 'He gave us no choice'
Pelosi, in a lengthy speech that kicked off a formal debate by the full House on the impeachment of Trump, called impeachment “one of the most solemn powers this body can take.”
“No member, regardless of political or party, comes to congress to impeach a president,” said Pelosi, standing next to a placard with an American flag that read “To the Republic For Which It Stands…”
But because Trump pursued an “improper personal benefit” at “the expense of our national security,” the “Founders’ vision of a Republic are under threat.”
She said she would, therefore “solemnly and sadly open the debate on the impeachment of the President of the United States.”
“If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duties,” Pelosi said.
“He gave us no choice,” she added.
She also paid tribute to Elijah Cummings, the late House Oversight Committee chairman who passed away in October, in the middle of the Democrats’ impeachment inquiry, saying that he was now “dancing with the angels.”
Democratic members gave Pelosi a subdued standing ovation as she concluded her floor remarks.
Van Drew and Peterson lone Democrats voting with Republicans
Two Democrats — Reps. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota — voted with Republicans on a procedural vote before the full House vote on the articles of impeachment.
The "previous question" passed 229-197, which closes the articles of impeachment resolution rule debate before the six hours of debate preceding the full House vote.
Van Drew and Peterson are from districts that Trump won in 2016. Van Drew, most notably, is considering defecting from the Democratic Party because of the inquiry and his re-election chances.
'We are all mad': Trump, White House fume as House debates impeachment
President Donald Trump and his administration were fuming Wednesday as the House prepared to vote for his impeachment, and they prepared in turn for "war" over the move he fears will stain his legacy.
“Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!” Trump tweeted, one of nearly two dozen tweets and retweets from his account by noon Wednesday.
“We are all mad,” a White House official told NBC News, describing the president's reaction as one of "disbelief" that the process had reached this point, and his team as being “angry this is happening.” But officials were quick to add that the president is ready for the fight ahead, describing the White House as battle-tested at this point.
Trump's impeachment, in pictures
Frank Thorp V, a producer and reporter for NBC News on Capitol Hill, has documented the impeachment proceedings against Trump since Sept. 24, when Pelosi announced a formal inquiry into his dealings with Ukraine.
Thorp used a 1950s Graflex Speed Graphic large format camera to shoot critical scenes — key witnesses on the stand, lawmakers speaking to the press — on 4x5 black-and-white film. He then developed them himself and posted the resulting images on social media.
View more of the photos here.
Lieu present for impeachment vote days after heart surgery
Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., was on the House floor Wednesday morning ahead of the impeachment vote days after he had heart surgery.
Lieu, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, missed the panel's vote last week on the articles of impeachment as he recovered from the procedure. He was also in the Capitol for votes on Tuesday.
Democrat McGovern calls on Republicans 'to stand up for your Constitution,' while GOP's Cole says 'we deserve better'
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., said in his closing statement as debate on the rule came to an end that if Trump’s actions aren’t checked, America is “rolling out the welcome mat” for foreign nations to interfere in U.S. elections and in choosing our leaders.
“I took an oath to uphold the Constitution,” he said, claiming that he decried partisanship.
McGovern urged his Republican colleagues to take his approach and “stand up for your Constitution.”
“When I vote yes,” he said, “my conscience will be clear.”
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Oka., in his closing argument called the House impeachment push a “flawed process” that has gone on “at the expense of minority rights.”
“Madam speaker, we deserve better than this,” Cole said.
His remark is consistent with the argument Republican lawmakers have offered during the impeachment inquiry, claiming the process is a vendetta against Trump because Democrats lost the 2016 election and has stifled Republican opposition.
House unlikely to vote on House managers today
At this point, it seems unlikely the House will vote today on a resolution naming the impeachment managers, who act as the prosecutors in the Senate Trial.
A senior Democratic aide tells NBC News the likely next step will be a public release of the impeachment manager names, but there was no time specified for when this announcement will occur.
The rule, which will be voted on shortly, will allow the Speaker to name managers at any point after the articles pass. There will be a debate and vote on that resolution naming the managers and they have to be named in order to transmit the articles to the Senate.
Meanwhile, on the Senate floor ... another sparring match
As House members kicked off debate over impeachment guidelines, the Senate leaders from both parties engaged in their own sparring match, going tit-for-tat over their competing desires over how a Senate trial of Trump should look.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., kicked things off, saying on the Senate floor that he felt it was “unfortunate” that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had made a “decision to try to angrily negotiate” the procedures of a Senate trial “through the press.
McConnell said he “hoped” that he and Schumer “can sit down” and reach an agreement about whether there should be witnesses in the trial.
Moments later, Schumer responded, saying McConnell must “offer one good reason why relevant witnesses shouldn't testify in an impeachment trial of President Trump.”
He also again urged Trump to allow four top aides to testify — former national security adviser John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, senior Mulvaney adviser Robert Blair and Michael Duffey, associate director for national security at the Office of Management and Budget.
Earlier, McConnell said during an interview on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” that a Senate trial would be “good therapy” for many Senate Democrats because they’ll have to “sit there quietly and listen.”
Senate Republicans bring Baby Yoda into this
Protesters give differing signs about who they want impeached
Clinton: 'Impeachment is the only remedy'
Pelosi and other lawmakers seen wearing black ahead of impeachment vote
House Speak Nancy Pelosi was seen wearing black ahead of the full House impeachment vote.
As Pelosi walked from her office to the House chamber, she said she was "sad" about the day's proceedings and Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., said that the dark clothing is to reflect that it’s not a day to celebrate.
Female members informally talked about wearing dark clothing today, she said.
Other lawmakers were seen wearing black or dark colors as both parties argue for and against impeachment. Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., gave an impassioned speech against impeachment on the floor wearing black.
Dems block GOP motions on vote procedure, speaking time
Republicans just tried to make two unanimous consent requests to change the process around today’s vote. Both were blocked by Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., who controls the time.
The first request was from Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the House Republican Conference chair, who requested that votes be done one at a time, with members standing and saying their votes out loud, on camera (members vote by electronic card).
The second request was to double the amount of debate time and make sure each member had a set amount of time to speak if they want.
Gaetz: We'll lose the vote but we won the argument
Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., one of Trump's staunchest congressional allies, conceded in a Wednesday tweet that Republicans will lose the impeachment vote Wednesday but claimed they've "won" the argument.
"Today, we will not win the vote, but we have won the argument," he tweeted. "Our country has been divided and distracted with no crime, no victim, and a terrible process."
Why is Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette presiding over floor debate?
Earlier Wednesday, Pelosi asked Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., to preside over the floor debate as speaker pro tempore.
DeGette was chosen for the role because she is a master at presiding, is the Democrats' toughest speaker pro tem and has been preparing for this debate for weeks, a senior Democratic aide said.
DeGette, 62, has represented Colorado’s First Congressional District — which contains all of Denver and many of its suburbs — since 1997. She is a former chief deputy whip for House Democrats and currently sits on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Before serving in the House, DeGette served two terms in the Colorado state House, according to her official House biography.
As rule debate got underway, Speaker Pelosi arrived on the House floor at roughly 10:12 a.m. She is in the back corner of the chamber on the Democratic side talking to staff and members.
Democrats table GOP resolution condemning Nadler, Schiff
Democrats successfully tabled a resolution that had been introduced by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on the floor Wednesday that sought to condemn the actions by the Democratic chairmen of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees.
Democrats tabled the privileged resolution in a 226-191 vote.
In a tweet, McCarthy said that Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., abused their power during the impeachment inquiry.
Jolly: GOP delay tactics are like the 'tantrum of a child'
Grisham explains why Trump wrote letter to Pelosi
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham said Wednesday that Trump wrote his six-page letter to Pelosi lambasting her and the impeachment process because “it was very important to him that he put it down in writing so that it would be safe for future generations.”
Grisham, in an interview with “Fox and Friends,” added that “this is a sad day and he wanted to make sure that he put down exactly what they're doing. A president is about to be impeached for partisan political reasons and that alone.
Grisham also took a shot at Pelosi, saying that she moved forward with impeachment because she was “held hostage by a very, very radical group within the Democratic Party, and I think that she was pressured to do so.”
“She overplayed her hand, and now she has to see it through,” Grisham said.
Protesters start gathering outside the Capitol
Democrats block GOP motion to adjourn
Minutes after the House floor opened Wednesday, Republicans called for a motion to adjourn the House for the day, and they called for a roll call vote.
Democrats blocked the motion in a 226-188 vote.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., chairman of the Freedom Caucus, made the motion as he was surrounded by a number of other conservatives on the floor including former Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C.
During the debate over impeachment Wednesday, Republicans are expected to offer motions on the floor that will delay the final votes on the articles.
House chaplain delivers prayer on floor: 'Give them wisdom and discernment'
The Rev. Patrick Conroy, the House chaplain, opened the floor Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET with a prayer in which he asked for guidance for the men and women of the people’s House "as they consider important legislation" and constitutional action.
“Give them wisdom and discernment,” he said. “Help them to realize that your constituency is wider and broader than ever we could measure or determine.”
“Help them, and help us all to put away any judgments that belong to you and do what we can to live together in harmony,” Conroy added.
House gavels in, votes on GOP motion to adjourn
The House gaveled in at 9 a.m. Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus, made a motion to adjourn, which the House is now voting on. Democrats will kill the motion, and then members will begin one hour of debate on the rule for consideration of the articles of impeachment.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has asked Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., to preside over the floor debate as speaker pro tempore, an aide to the speaker said. Pelosi will speak at the opening of general debate and will preside over both votes on the articles of impeachment.
DeGette was chosen for the role because she is a master at presiding, is the Democrats' toughest speaker pro tem and has been preparing for this debate for weeks, a senior Democratic aide said.
First Read: Impeachment caps a dark and dysfunctional decade in American politics
It’s only fitting that the decade is coming to an end with an impeachment vote against the president of the United States, because it’s been a dark 10 years in American politics.
And it’s gotten progressively worse, especially in the last three years.
Consider this timeline of controversy, gridlock, outrage and resentment in our politics. Add them all up, and it’s easily the darkest decade in politics since the 1960s. And think of anyone in their 20s right now — it’s all they’ve seen.
Schiff condemns Trump's 'lack of morality'
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff, whose panel led the investigation into Trump's Ukraine dealings at the center of Democrats' abuse of power argument, joked Wednesday that the passage of President Donald Trump's scorched-earth letter that focused on Schiff was "probably the nicest thing" Trump had "to say about me" in some time.
"This president does nothing but project onto others his lack of morality," Schiff, D-Calif., told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" of Trump's Tuesday letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Read more from Schiff's interview here.
Trump on impeachment: 'Can you believe...'
President Donald Trump expressed disbelief on Twitter ahead of Wednesday's historic vote that the House is set to formally impeach him for his conduct involving Ukraine.
Read the full story here.
Impeachment rewind: What we learned from House Intelligence Committee hearings
From Wednesday Nov. 13 to Thursday Nov. 21, Americans were glued to their televisions, computers and streaming devices, as the House Intelligence Committee held a series of long public hearings as part of a broader Democratic-led impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump.
Click here for a look back on all the things we learned from two jam-packed weeks of public testimony.
McConnell rejects Democrats' call for new witnesses in a Senate trial
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell ripped House Democrats' impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump as the "most unfair" in U.S. history a day ahead of the impeachment vote, rejecting the Democratic minority's call for new witnesses as part of a Senate trial.
"It is not the Senate's job to leap into the breach and search desperately for ways to get to guilty," McConnell, R-Ky., said.
Also Tuesday, he reporters he would not be an "impartial juror" if an impeachment trial is held in the GOP-led Senate. "I think we're going to get an almost entirely partisan impeachment," he added.
Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had requested that the Senate, during its trial, call former national security adviser John Bolton and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, as well as two others, to testify about Trump’s Ukraine dealings.
Read more here.
Giuliani boasts of ousting Yovanovitch, reveals more details on what he says he told Trump
Rudy Giuliani, after telling publications that he engineered U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch's ouster because she was an obstacle to investigations desired by his client President Donald Trump, claimed Tuesday that she "needed to be removed for many reasons."
"Yovanovitch needed to be removed for many reasons most critical she was denying visas to Ukrainians who wanted to come to US and explain Dem corruption in Ukraine," Giuliani said on Twitter. "She was OBSTRUCTING JUSTICE and that’s not the only thing she was doing. She at minimum enabled Ukrainian collusion."
Giuliani, the president's personal attorney, was tweeting after two news outlets published interviews with him Monday in which he revealed more details about his involvement in Yovanovitch's abrupt removal from her post, as well as what he says Trump knew.
For the full story click here
'Crusade,' 'spiteful,': Trump lambastes Pelosi over impeachment in rambling letter
President Donald Trump on Tuesday excoriated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over her effort to have him impeached, calling it a partisan “crusade,” an “unprecedented and unconstitutional abuse of power” and a “spiteful” “election-nullification scheme.”
In a rambling six-page letter, Trump accused Pelosi of having “cheapened the importance of the very ugly word, impeachment” and said she was “declaring open war on American Democracy” by pursuing his impeachment.
“You dare to invoke the Founding Fathers in pursuit of this election-nullification scheme — yet your spiteful actions display unfettered contempt for America’s founding and your egregious conduct threatens to destroy that which our Founders pledged their very lives to build,” Trump wrote.
“It is a terrible thing you are doing, but you will have to live with it, not I!” Trump added in the blistering and brooding letter, which contained 16 exclamation points.
For the full story click here
How the House vote will unfold
INTRO
Following an introduction of the House resolution, there will be roughly six hours of debate on the articles, with time equally divided and controlled by Chairman Nadler and ranking Republican, Rep. Doug Collins, or their respective designees.
THE VOTES
There will be a separate vote for each article of impeachment. Once that is finished, and likely passed, Nadler will appoint House members to serve as "managers," or prosecutors, for the Senate trial. This can be debated for 10 minutes, also equally divided between the Judiciary Chair and ranking Republican.
MAGIC MINUTES
Speaker Pelosi, GOP Leader McCarthy and Majority Leader Hoyer are permitted to speak as long as they would like on the House floor and it does NOT count towards the 6 hours of debate. So basically the clock stops again when those three speak.