Cicilline Leader Of Impeachment Charge Following Capitol Siege

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Rhode Island member of Congress is leading the charge to again impeach President Donald Trump following Wednesday's melee at the U.S. Capitol. Rep. David Cicilline and several of his House colleagues have formally drafted articles of impeachment.

The resolution, drafted by Cicilline along with Reps. Ted Lieu and Jamie Raskin, cites abuse of power for the president's role in inciting the demonstration that became a violent melee at the Capitol Building Wednesday, as lawmakers convened to certify the votes of the Electoral College and officially name Joe Biden the next president.

Cicilline published the resolution Thursday, after calling for Trump's vice president and cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove him from power on Wednesday night. He and fellow House Judiciary Committee members sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, calling for him to take action.

"Section 4 of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the Vice President and a majority of sitting Cabinet secretaries with the authority to determine a president as unfit if he 'is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office,'" the letter read in part. "Even in his video announcement this afternoon, President Trump revealed that he is not mentally sound and is still unable to process and accept the results of the 2020 election. President Trump's willingness to incite violence and social unrest to overturn the election results by force clearly meet this standard. So too are his recent Tweets, which Twitter has since deleted, saying the election was 'stolen' and that today's riots 'are the things and events that happen.'"

If the House were to approve the resolution, Trump would be the first president in the country's history to be impeached on two separate occasions. As it stands, his is one of just three presidents to be impeached, none of whom were convicted in their Senate trials.

With just a few weeks left until the Jan. 20 inauguration, lawmakers would have to move quickly to get impeachment proceedings passed in time.

Read more:

• Cicilline, Others Call For Trump Removal Following Capitol Siege
• 'Say A Prayer For Our Country': RI Lawmakers On Capitol Chaos
• Far- Right Protesters Gather In DC To Oppose 'Rigged' Election