House Democrats on Tuesday unveiled two articles of impeachment against President Trump but refused to take questions after the announcement, calling into question the level of confidence they have in their collective decision.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) stepped aside on Tuesday to allow House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-NY) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) to present the details of the two articles of impeachment, which are abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — neither of which allege a high crime or misdemeanor. Notably, there was no mention of bribery, extortion, or treason either.
The speaker was also flanked by committee chairs Eliot Engel (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Richard Neal (D-MA).
However, the Democrats refused to take a single question following their announcement and did not indicate when the text would be released despite their purported devotion to transparency and “solemn” duty to hold political leaders accountable:
“Today, in the service to our duty to the Constitution and to our country, the House Judiciary Committee is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the president of the United States of committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” Nadler stated during the brief press conference.
“It is an impeachable offense for a president to use the powers of his office to seek a personal benefit,” he added.
Schiff, during his announcement, said Democrats cannot wait for the next election cycle to play out because it would essentially allow Trump to “cheat” in one more election — a subtle reference to the debunked Russia collusion narrative.
“The evidence of the president’s misconduct is overwhelming and uncontested,” Schiff said.
“The argument, ‘Why don’t you just wait?’ comes down to this: Why don’t you just let him cheat in just one more election?” he added: