Donald Trump was guilty of “incitement to insurrection” and incited violence against the government of the United States: This is the accusation with which the Democrats want to initiate impeachment proceedings against him for the second time. The impeachment in the last days of his presidency is said to hold Trump accountable after he first incited his supporters and then lauded them as “patriots” when they attacked the Capitol last Wednesday.
Exactly one week after the fatal rioting for five people, the House of Representatives is due to vote this Wednesday on the one impeachment article that sees the criterion of “serious crimes and misdemeanors” met. The Republicans in the chamber blocked an ultimatum to Vice President Mike Pence for the time being, according to which he should disempower Trump together with the cabinet. Deposition under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution is unlikely. Pence has since met with Trump and announced that he had had a “good conversation” with the outgoing president. It was agreed that the violence of January 6 should be condemned. The broadcaster CNN quoted employees of the Vice President who had wanted to “lower the temperature”, so to be reasonably good with Trump again.
“Regardless of the political costs”
It also has to do with the situation within the Republican Party. Many there have no doubt that Trump’s time is over for the time being and that one has to discuss one’s own future. Now it’s Pence, but also the agitators of the last week like Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, about winning the base of Trump for themselves, say many commentators.
The party is in an uproar. In a conference call on Monday, according to the magazine “Politico”, MPs are said to have argued about the consequences of the attack on the Capitol. Some spoke out in favor of at least officially reprimanding Trump. A few Republicans could go further and join the Democrats in the House of Representatives vote on Wednesday. They are annoyed after more than 120 colleagues voted on January 6 for various attempts to question the election results of individual states – many even after neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists attacked the Capitol.
Adam Kinzinger, Republican MP from Illinois, is one of the few who have signaled openness to Trump’s second impeachment. “I’ll choose the right one, you know, when this is presented to me,” he told ABC last Sunday. Nevertheless, he does not consider the impeachment procedure to be the “smartest way,” said Kinzinger. His spokesman later made it clear that the MP considered Trump incapacitated. The president violated his oath of office, and Kinzinger intends to “do the right thing, regardless of the political costs.” The veteran is very popular in his constituency and won re-election in November by almost thirty percentage points.
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