Politics
- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday, before the US Senate.
- During that ceremony, the public was able to catch a glimpse of the actual articles - one count of abuse of power, and one count of obstruction of Congress - that were passed by the House in December.
- Pelosi, flanked by House managers and Democratic leaders, signed the articles of impeachment with a series of pens.
- "Today we will make history,'' Pelosi said at the signing ceremony. "This president will be held accountable."
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In a historic moment, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Wednesday. President Trump is only the third president to be impeached in US history.
During the signing ceremony, the public was able to catch a glimpse of the formal impeachment document - containing one count of abuse of power, and one count of obstruction of Congress.
The articles of impeachment were passed by the US House of Representatives in December, and on Wednesday the House voted to transmit the articles to the US Senate where the impeachment trial will be held.
Pelosi, flanked by House managers and other Democratic House leaders, signed the articles of impeachment with a series of pens.
Much like signing ceremonies done by US presidents, Pelosi used multiple pens that were handed out to those present at the ceremony. (President Lyndon B. Johnson used more than 75 pens to sign the 1964 Civil Rights Act that were given to legislators and civil rights leaders.)
House managers (members who will serve a prosecutors during the Senate trial) were selected earlier on Wednesday, and they include Reps. Adam Schiff of California, Jerry Nadler of New York, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Sylvia Garcia of Texas, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado, and Zoe Lofgren of California.
"Today we will make history,'' Pelosi said at the signing ceremony. "This president will be held accountable."
The articles were then marched over and presented to the Senate, notifying the upper chamber that the articles will be transmitted. The formal presentation and reading of the articles is expected on Thursday. The trial, overseen by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, will likely begin on Tuesday of next week.
The impeachment inquiry was sparked by a whistleblower complaint filed by a member of the intelligence community. It centers around whether Trump abused his power for political gain, with regards to a pressure campaign on the Ukrainian government to get dirt on a political opponent.