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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 Trump impeached for historic second time
US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, center, holds a signed article of impeachment during a ceremony at the Capitol in Washington on Wednesday. Photo: AFP
BIPARTISAN REPROACH: At the final count in the US House of Representatives, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s No. 3, US Representative Liz Cheney
/ AFP, WASHINGTON
US President Donald Trump became the first president in the country’s history to be impeached twice when the US House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to charge him with inciting last week’s mob attack on the US Congress.
“Today, in a bipartisan way, the House demonstrated that no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said after the vote.
The US Senate would not hold a trial before Wednesday next week, when US president-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated, meaning that Trump is to escape the ignominy of being forced to leave office early.
However, he is set to face a Senate trial later and if convicted he might be barred in a follow-up vote from seeking the US presidency again in 2024.
“Donald Trump has deservedly become the first president in American history to bear the stain of impeachment twice over,” said US Senator Chuck Schumer, who in a week’s time is to become Senate leader. “The Senate is required to act and will proceed with his trial.”
In the House, the only question was how many Republicans would join the lockstep Democratic majority in the 232-197 vote.
At the final count, 10 Republicans broke ranks, including the party’s No. 3 in the House, US Representative Liz Cheney.
“I am in total peace today that my vote was the right thing and I actually think history will judge it that way,” said Adam Kinzinger, a vocal Trump critic and one of the Republicans who crossed the aisle.
In the White House, Trump issued a videotaped address in which he made no mention of impeachment or his attempts to persuade half of the country into believing that Biden’s victory was fraudulent.
Instead, the comments focused on an appeal for Americans to be “united,” avoid violence and “overcome the passions of the moment.”
Biden called Wednesday’s decision by US representatives “a bipartisan vote cast by members who followed the constitution and their conscience.”
Biden, who inherits the COVID-19 pandemic and an ailing economy amid other woes, urged the Senate to address his priorities, such as approving Cabinet nominations, while also dealing with Trump’s trial.
“I hope that the Senate leadership will find a way to deal with their constituional responsibilities on impeachment, while also working on the other urgent business of this nation,” Biden said in a statement.
Trump’s downfall was triggered by a speech he delivered to a crowd on the National Mall on Wednesday last week, telling them that Biden had stolen the presidential election and that they needed to march “peacefully” on Congress and show “strength.”
Pelosi told the chamber before the vote that Trump “must go.”
“He is a clear and present danger to the nation that we all love,” she said.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
