Democrat Unveils 26 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump, Foreshadowing What May Come If House Flips

In a sign of what’s to come if Democrats win the House in the midterms, President Trump is facing 26 new articles of impeachment introduced by a congressman who accuses him of abuses of power, violations of his oath of office, and a wide range of other alleged misconduct.Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat and senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the articles late last week, just nine days after the House rejected a separate impeachment effort brought by another Democrat, Representative Al Green of Texas. Mr. Green’s resolution was shelved by the House in a 232-147 vote on September 15, with 18 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans in voting to table it and another 47 lawmakers voting present. Those voting present included three House Democratic leaders — Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar.Republicans have publicly ignored Mr. Cohen’s initiative, which has no chance of advancing in the GOP-led House, and Mr. Cohen himself has acknowledged as much. “I know they won’t go anywhere, but I’m not going to stop standing up for my constituents and for democracy,” he said. Mr. Cohen’s resolution is considerably wider than Mr. Green’s. Its 26 articles encompass allegations involving Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, the use of military power, federal spending, tariffs, presidential pardons, the federal workforce, universities, law firms, the media, and alleged personal financial benefit from the presidency.The first article accuses Trump of “undermining democracy” by sowing doubt about elections, while the second alleges an abuse of power by waging war on Iran without congressional approval. Another concerns alleged extrajudicial killings in international waters off Venezuela, while a fourth targets the deployment of military forces against American cities.Immigration features prominently in the resolution. The articles target Mr. Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order and the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. They also make allegations concerning conditions at El Salvador’s CECOT prison and accuse the administration of defying court orders in immigration enforcement.Other articles accuse Trump of unlawfully withholding congressionally appropriated funds, imposing loyalty tests on the federal workforce, improperly terminating inspectors general, and abusing presidential pardon powers.Mr. Cohen also targets Mr. Trump’s dealings with the press, law firms, and universities. Two articles accuse the president of attacking press freedom, including by excluding reporters from the White House over coverage and allegedly coercing CBS and ABC to alter editorial content. The press-freedom allegations come amid a legal battle over Mr. Trump’s banishing of CNN, MS Now, and Politico reporters from the White House.The final article alleges that Mr. Trump violated the Constitution’s emoluments provisions by “profiting personally and directly from the presidency.” The claims contained in the resolution are allegations made by Cohen and do not by themselves establish that Trump committed impeachable offenses.“I took an independent oath to support and defend the Constitution,” Mr. Cohen said in a press release. “That commitment compels me to introduce this resolution today. When historians write about this period, and our constituents ask who stood up to President Trump’s lawlessness, this resolution is the answer.”Mr. Cohen’s 26-count resolution enters a House still controlled by Republicans, meaning it has no chance of advancing now. But that calculus could shift after November: Democrats hold a nine-point lead in the generic Congressional ballot, according to NBC News’s polling average, which found 52 percent of Americans now want a Democrat-controlled Congress compared with 43 percent who prefer Republicans — the party’s largest lead of the cycle.Cook Political Report’s Erin Covey projects Democrats are likely to pick up between five and 15 seats, which would put the party at 220 to 230 seats — enough to flip the chamber, since 218 are needed for control of the House’s 435 seats. Ms. Covey noted that, unlike in 2018, most of the competitive races this cycle are in districts Mr. Trump himself won, but “in large part due to his handling of the economy, the president is now deeply underwater and is dragging down Republican House members and candidates across these districts.”History offers Democrats reasons for optimism. In the 2018 midterms, halfway through Mr. Trump’s first term, the GOP suffered a net loss of 40 House seats, according to Ballotpedia. More broadly, the president’s party has lost an average of 29 House seats in midterm elections dating back to 1918. That pattern reflects a durable trend: The party occupying the White House tends to lose ground in Congress once voters get a chance to register their verdict at the midterms.If that trend holds and Democrats take the majority, resolutions like Mr. Cohen’s may no longer be symbolic gestures doomed to die in committee. House Democrats are already preparing a sweeping oversight agenda targeting Mr. Trump, his family, and his administration should the party retake the chamber. The undertaking would span several committees, backed by the subpoena power and larger staff budgets that come with majority control.“There is a cost to the American people of the out-of-control corruption,” Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is in line to become House speaker if Democrats win control, told the Associated Press. “If folks have been stealing from the American people, shortchanging the American people, or screwing over the American people, we are going to hold the crooks accountable.”

Democrat Unveils 26 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump, Foreshadowing What May Come If House Flips

Democrat Unveils 26 Articles of Impeachment Against Trump, Foreshadowing What May Come If House Flips

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