US House of Representatives passes impeachment probe resolution
Vote set rules for public phase of impeachment inquiry, laying out plan that could produce televised hearings within two weeks.
For only the third time in the history of the modern presidency, the US House of Representatives voted on Thursday to formalize impeachment proceedings against the president of the United States.
In a largely party-line vote of 232-196, the House embarked on a path that seemed likely to lead to Donald Trump’s impeachment – if not necessarily his removal from office. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, presided over the vote and marked it with a bang of her gavel.
Republicans held ranks to vote uniformly against the process, while two Democrats crossed party lines to join them. The House’s sole independent, former Republican Justin Amash of Michigan, voted to advance the resolution.
The vote set rules for the public phase of the inquiry, laying out a road map for impeachment that could produce dramatic televised public hearings within two weeks and a vote on impeachment itself by the end of the year.
“This resolution sets the stage for the next phase of our investigation, one in which the American people have the opportunity to hear from the witnesses firsthand,” the House intelligence chairman, Adam Schiff, said in a floor speech ahead of the vote.
“We will continue to conduct this inquiry with the seriousness of purpose that our task deserves because it is our duty and because no one is above the law.”
Pelosi called the vote a “solemn occasion” but said it was a necessary “step forward” to establish the framework for the open hearings.
(The Guardian)
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