House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) On Tuesday named nine executives who will lead President Trump’s second impeachment – including Rep. Eric Swalwell, who recently faced controversy over his relationship with a Chinese spy.
The House will begin impeachment proceedings against Trump on Wednesday for allegedly instigating last week’s Capitol uprising. The impeachment process is expected to pass with overwhelming Democratic support and at least three Republican votes.
Impeachment managers are responsible for presenting the allegations, giving them a lot of public attention, and associating their own credibility with the case. They are especially prominent during Senate trials.
Pelosi’s choice of Swalwell (D-Calif.) Is a bold confirmation from the controversial House Intelligence Committee member who declined to say whether he had a relationship with Chinese spy Fang Fang. The FBI warned him about Fang in 2015 during his freshman year on the House Intelligence Commission.
Swalwell’s father and brother remained active Facebook friends with the suspected spy until last month, when her surgery was publicly reported.
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) Will serve as the chief deposition manager. The former US university law professor is known for his even keel and will take on the role of divisive Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) During Trump’s initial impeachment.
Raskin’s son Tommy, 25, died by suicide on Dec. 31, and he has received frequent bipartisan expressions of condolences during recent hearings.
The other impeachment managers are representatives Diana DeGette of Colorado, David Cicilline of Rhode Island, Joaquin Castro of Texas, Ted Lieu of California, Stacey Plaskett of the Virgin Islands, Joe Neguse of Colorado and Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania.
Pelosi said in a statement, “It is their constitutional and patriotic duty to advocate for the impeachment and removal of the president. They will do this, guided by their deep love for the country, determination to protect our democracy and loyalty to our oath to the Constitution. Our managers will fulfill their duty to defend Democracy For The People with great solemnity, prayerfulness and urgency. “
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill noted the diversity of the managers, tweet, “7/9 are women, people of color or LGBTQ.” Swalwell and Raskin are the only straight white men.
While Trump is expected to soon become the only president in US history to be impeached twice, the senate will likely not begin its trial until after he leaves office on January 20. If convicted, he can be disfellowshipped again.
Democrats and some Republicans accuse Trump of instigating a riot in which four Trump supporters and a police officer were killed by delivering a defiant speech near the White House urging thousands of supporters to “fight like hell” over lawmakers. to convince to overthrow President-elect Joe. Biden’s win. Trump claimed the election was fraudulently stolen from him – despite the court’s opposite.
The riot and break-in at the Capitol were disrupted, but did not prevent Biden’s certification of victory.
If the impeachment succeeds, as expected, it will be the fourth time in history that a president has been impeached. Presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton were also impeached. Richard Nixon resigned when impeachment was inevitable.
Trump was first impeached by the House in December 2019 during a party line vote for pressuring Ukraine to investigate Democrats, including Hunter Biden, who reportedly made $ 83,000 a month on the board of directors from the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, while his vice president father Obama the Ukraine policy. The Senate voted along party lines in February to acquit Trump, with a sole Republican, Utah Senator Mitt Romney, voting to convict on either count.