Rep. Omar unveils articles of impeachment for President Trump
WASHINGTON, D.C. (FOX 9) - U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar has written the articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump.
In a tweet Thursday, Omar presented the resolution to impeach the president, saying, "We need to move quickly to remove this President from office."
"The insurrection yesterday tells us that we are almost out of time," Omar said in a news conference Thursday. She added that "radical" and "violent" fractions could grow if left unchecked.
"What happened yesterday was unmistakenly a violent attempt to interrupt our Democratic proccesses," she said.
In a letter, Omar called on her fellow colleagues to introduce the resolution. Wednesday, Omar said she was drawing up the articles after a large mob of his supporters breached the U.S. Capitol Wednesday.
The resolution is co-lead by Reps. David Cicilline, Ted Lieu, Al Green, Hank Johnson, Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, Vicente Gonzalez, Jamaal Bowman, Mondaire Jones, Veronica Escobar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Cori Bush. In a news conference Thursday afternoon, Omar said the impeachment articles have support from 60 other members of Congress, but no Republicans at this time.
Rep. Dean Phillips, of Minnesota's 3rd Congressional District, also signed on to the introduction of the articles of impeachment Thursday.
Thursday afternoon, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said if the President is not removed under the 25th amendment that impeachment proceedings can begin.
"Once again, Trump has violated his constitutional oath to faithfully execute the office of the President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," Omar wrote.
She added, "Every single hour that Donald Trump remains in office, our country, our democracy, and our national security remain in danger."
On feeling threatened
Rep. Omar, when asked about frequently being the target of the President's ire, explained that she has come to better understand what it means to face the President's violent rhetoric, but that many of her colleagues have not.
Here is an excerpt of what she said Thursday afternoon:
I’ve felt the threat and weight of what it meant to be targeted by the President of the United States. Although I have appreciated the support of my constiutents and the public, many of my colleagues have not fully understood just how inciteful and dangerous the President could be and what it really meant to people like the groups of the Proud Boys when he told them to "Stand down and stand by" and how they could someday find themselves the targets of the President and how serious those threats could be as they have been for me.
Yesterday, to sit in my office and watch other buildings being evacuated and to hear about the bombs and explosives that were being found and being disposed of and being rushed out of my office, and to later go back to the Capitol and speak with my colleagues who were in the Capitol and found themselves face to face with a very dangerous mob, it really is something to behold.
I, in ways, feel vindicated as someone who has raised the alarm, and in some ways feel saddened that what we thought could be possible has been made possible.