The vote sets up just the third presidential impeachment in U.S. history, which is expected Wednesday.
Articles of impeachment are headed to the House floor.
It took three days of meetings, marked by inflamed rhetoric and increasingly personal disputes, but the Judiciary Committee on Friday voted along party lines to approve charges that President Donald Trump abused his power and obstructed a congressional investigation.
The move marks the first vote at any level of the House on articles of impeachment since 1998. And it sets up just the third presidential impeachment in U.S. history — expected Wednesday, according to Democratic aides.
The articles allege that Trump put his personal interests above U.S. national security by pressuring Ukraine to open investigations into his Democratic adversaries. Then, the articles state, Trump waged an unprecedented campaign to block impeachment investigators from obtaining witness testimony and documents as they sought to probe the allegations.
Next week’s impeachment vote will then lead to a Senate trial, presided over by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, in January. Trump’s allies expect the GOP-controlled chamber will acquit him swiftly — it takes a two-thirds vote of the 100-member body to remove a sitting president — but Republican senators are still deciding whether to ultimately allow Trump to call witnesses.
The committee abruptly paused its proceedings just after 11 p.m. Thursday night, after a 14-hour session during which Republicans offered several amendments aimed at chipping away at the articles — all rejected by Democrats. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) postponed the final votes until Friday morning, a move that aides said reflected a preference to vote during the light of day.
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BREAKING: House Judiciary approves articles of impeachment, paving the way for a floor vote https://t.co/0Lc4qvLCZA pic.twitter.com/ptOPtn4zOV
— POLITICO (@politico) December 13, 2019Gohmert: "May I ask how I'm recorded?"
Nadler: "How is the gentleman recorded?"
Clerk: "Mr. Gohmert, you are recorded as 'no.'"
Gohmert: "Yeah, I wanted to make sure."
Democrats approve first article of impeachment against Pres. Trump in Judiciary vote https://t.co/4nrqihuwtd pic.twitter.com/fFl8S0x2zl
— The Hill (@thehill) December 13, 2019
Rep. Jerry Nadler: "The article is agreed to."
Democrats approve second article of impeachment against Pres. Trump in Judiciary vote https://t.co/4nrqihuwtd pic.twitter.com/x23MyabLLH
— The Hill (@thehill) December 13, 2019American politics today….. in one picture. pic.twitter.com/v4VYvZwFDs
— Jonathan Capehart (@CapehartJ) December 13, 2019
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