The United States Congress has commenced the process of impeaching President Donald Trump.
Democrats in the House of Representatives formally introduced the article of impeachment on Monday.
Accusing the President of inciting insurrection at the US Capitol, they also alleged that the President actively encouraged violence at the Capitol and made several false claims about the recent presidential election.
The House adjourned after Republicans objected to the article. They are expected to reconvene on Tuesday.
The Democrats also introduced a resolution, calling on Vice-President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment of the US Constitution that would see Trump relieved of his duty.
The Constitution empowers the Vice-President to convene the White House cabinet to decide whether the President should be removed from office under certain circumstances.
The 25th Amendment also permits Congress to impeach Presidents before the end of their tenure, when they commit “treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours.”
The resolutions, which come nine days to the end of the Trump Presidency, is the second attempt at removing the US President from office after the House impeached him in 2020.
In the new article of impeachment, Trump was accused of instigating the violence that occurred at the Capitol, when his supporters stormed the legislative complex and disrupted a process to certify Joe Biden’s presidential victory.
It also cited Trump’s call with Brad Raffensperger, the state of Georgia’s Secretary of State, where the President was reported to have urged him to “find” enough votes for him to win the state.
The article reads in part, “In all this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government.
“He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperilled a coequal branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.”
Trump has consistently insisted that he – not Biden – won the election, without any evidence of fraud and despite court rulings throwing out over 58 of his suits challenging the result.
