By NAN STAFF WRITER
News Americas, NEW YORK, NY., Weds. Dec. 11, 2019: Caribbean-born and Caribbean roots US lawmakers are among those endorsing the historic move Tuesday that saw Articles of Impeachment being drafted against only the fourth President in nearly two-and-a-half centuries of US history.
“Today, in service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciary is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, with committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler said at a news conference, formally unveiling the two articles against Trump. They include one for abuse of power and the other for obstruction of Congress.
Caribbean-born New York Congressman, Adriano Espaillat stated that “Chairman Nadler gets to the core of the problem: President Trump put himself above our country” while Caribbean American Congresswoman, Yvette D. Clarke of Brooklyn, NY, tweeted her support of the impeachment move, noting in a tweet that: “Nobody is above the law—including Donald J. Trump.”
“The President is a continuing threat to our democracy, and he has left the House no choice,” added Puerto Rico-born, New York Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, while adding that hastag, #DefendOurDemocracy
“Today is a historic, yet somber time for our country, as Congress will hold 45 accountable for his law-breaking, unconstitutional actions,” Clarke tweeted Tuesday.
Caribbean roots lawmaker, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, whose roots extend to Jamaica, said on CNN that the facts about the articles of impeachment against President Trump “are undisputed”
“Our friends on the other side of the aisle have not disputed one single fact. They have not defended the President. All they’ve talked about is process,” she said on OutFront.
And Jamaican-roots Senator, Kamala Harris, who will have to vote in the US Senate once the case against the President moves there next year, tweeted: “Trump betrayed his oath of office by putting his own personal political interests over our national interest.”
She added that Rep. Adam Schiff “is right – doing nothing would mean being complicit in Trump’s betrayal. We have no choice but to impeach.”
The articles are now expected to be considered in the House Judiciary Committee this week and voted on soon after, which would send them to the floor for a vote on impeachment by the full House, possibly this month.
If one or more of the articles pass, the Senate would then hold a trial to consider removing Trump. That would take a vote by at least two thirds of the Senate, most likely sometime in January.
Meanwhile, Trump for his part blasted the charges at a packed campaign rally in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania.
