2nd Trump Impeachment: How Rep. Chris Smith Of NJ Voted

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Rep. Chris Smith was one of the 197 "no" votes as the House of Representatives passed a majority vote to impeach President Donald Trump on Wednesday.

The President was impeached on a charge that he incited the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol last week. The House voted 232 in favor, 197 opposed to the impeachment, making Trump the first president in U.S. history to be impeached twice.

Smith, a Republican who represents New Jersey District 4 in Washington, voted against impeaching the president. He and South Jersey Congressman Jeff Van Drew are New Jersey's sole two Republican Congress reps, and they both voted against the impeachment.

"Today’s snap impeachment vote alleging President Trump’s 'incitement of insurrection' lacks an objective and thorough investigation of the facts," said Rep. Smith in his remarks Wednesday on the House floor. "Astonishingly, there have been no congressional hearings on H. Res. 24, the impeachment resolution, which was only introduced two days ago on January 11."

Similarly, both Smith and Van Drew voted against the first Democrat-led impeachment of Trump a year ago, and that impeachment actually led to Van Drew leaving the Democratic party to become a Republican. Trump threw a rally in Wildwood a few months after that, in part to thank Van Drew.

On Tuesday, Smith and Van Drew also voted against a House bill that called on Vice President Mike Pence to activate the 25th Amendment, which would declare President Trump incapable of executing the duties of his office as president.

Smith was one of all 205 Republicans, and zero Democrats, to vote against installing articles of impeachment. Pence declined to convene the Cabinet, saying in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that impeaching the president was not in the best interest of the nation.

Here are Smith's entire remarks on the impeachment vote today:

"With just seven days remaining in his term, today’s highly partisan rush to impeach the President is being done without knowing the whole truth, which takes time, effort and serious scrutiny to establish.

Today’s snap impeachment vote alleging President Trump’s 'incitement of insurrection' lacks an objective and thorough investigation of the facts.

Astonishingly, there have been no congressional hearings on H. Res. 24—the impeachment resolution—which was only introduced two days ago on January 11th.

The fact that the U.S. Senate won’t even consider the impeachment resolution passed by the House until after the January 20 inauguration begs the question as to why the debate and vote isn’t postponed until we have all the facts.

Our Nation is in desperate need of unity and civility as it prepares for the inauguration of President-elect Biden.

Impeachment of President Trump—without a thorough analysis of the facts which takes time, effort and serious scrutiny to establish—will not in any way help to heal a divided America.

Let me state again that I unequivocally condemn the assault on the Capitol last week and those who committed murder, violence, vandalism and other crimes should be prosecuted to the greatest extent of the law.

We must be committed to zero-tolerance towards violence in any form.

I strongly support and have cosponsored H.R . 275 to create a national bipartisan commission to comprehensively investigate the January 6th deadly attack on the Capitol."

Smith's district, NJ 4, covers nearly all of Monmouth County, including towns such as Holmdel, part of Middletown, Colts Neck, Rumson, Manalapan, Freehold, Red Bank and Wall Township. The fourth district also reaches into Jackson and Lakewood in Ocean County and Hamilton and Robbinsville in Mercer County.

The historic House vote took place a week after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in a siege that resulted in five deaths — including the beating death of a Capitol Police officer, multiple arrests and a sprawling FBI investigation. The impeachment comes a week before President-elect Joe Biden is to be inaugurated in a city on high alert amid ongoing threats of violence.

What's Next: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky will not allow a trial while Republicans are in the majority — which would have been an extraordinary turn by a Republican leader who has defended and protected Trump during the four years of his tumultuous presidency.

• If an impeachment trial is allowed in the Senate, it will be after Biden is inaugurated, McConnell said Wednesday. McConnell has reportedly said he believes Trump committed impeachable offenses, and that moving forward with a vote would make it easier for Republicans to purge Trumpism from their party, but he won’t reconvene the Senate ahead of Biden’s inauguration. His staff said McConnell will defer to New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, who will become the new majority leader, to manage the process.

• Biden has suggested the Senate could “bifurcate” — that is spend half of the day confirming his Cabinet nominees and the other half on impeachment matters.

• Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, is among more than two dozen Republicans who signaled they would break from their party and vote to impeach Trump.

• "There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution," she said in a statement Tuesday.

Trial In The Senate: Two-thirds of the chamber would have to vote to convict Trump. The Senate exonerated Trump last year on charges of abuse of power and contempt of Congress after special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, but the charge against Trump this time is more clear-cut.

Under the Constitution, the Senate could prevent him from holding federal office again and strip him of other perks afforded to former presidents.

As lawmakers debated the need for and grave potential consequence of impeaching Trump for a second time, the FBI warned of armed protests in the days ahead of Biden’s inauguration. Statehouses in all 50 states have been targeted for protests, including in Trenton: NJ Preparing After FBI Issues Warning In Wake Of Pro-Trump Riots

The agency is also monitoring chatter on an encrypted messaging platform about plans by Trump extremists to form perimeters around the Capitol, the White House and the Supreme Court building as Biden takes the oath of office.

Read More On Patch Related: Parting With Van Drew, Rep. Smith Votes To Confirm Biden Win

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