Al Green Introduces Article Of Impeachment For Trump In Wake Of Iran Strikes

Rep. Al Green (D-TX) introduced articles of impeachment for President Donald Trump.

Transcript

00:00Mr. Speaker and still I rise and I rise today in the name of government of the

00:15people by the people for the people. I rise today because our country is nearing

00:24a moment of decision. I rise because we are at the intersection of democracy and autocracy.

00:37I rise to announce that at this moment in time I have filed H. Res. 537. H. Res. 537 is

00:48a privileged resolution. H. Res. 537 has been filed because I believe that the President

00:58of the United States has committed an impeachable act. H. Res. 537 addresses abuse of presidential

01:09powers by disregarding the separation of powers, devolving American democracy into an authority

01:18government, usurping congressional power to declare war. Mr. Speaker, I take no delight

01:34in what I'm doing. I do this because I love my country. I do this because I understand that

01:41the Constitution is going to be meaningful or it will be meaningless. I do it because I

01:47understand that the President of the United States of America has a duty to consult Congress

01:52before taking this country to war. I do it because no one person should have the power to take

02:00over 300 million people to war without consulting with the Congress of the United States of America.

02:07I do this because if I do not, this authoritarian President that we currently have will continue

02:16to assume power. He has already instigated an assault on the Citadel of Democracy, the capital

02:23of the United States of America. He went so far as to pardon the persons who were actually

02:30involved in the assault. He has denied persons due process of the law. I believe that if we

02:37do not take immediate action, this authoritarian President will not only devolve the country

02:44into authoritarianism, I believe he is a would-be dictator who would become a dictator. So I today

02:51announce that later today, I will bring these articles of impeachment to the floor and I will

02:59call for a vote. I believe that the hour of decision is upon us and we all have to decide, are we going

03:06to go down and choose the path of democracy or we allow ourselves to choose the low road of autocracy.

03:15I believe that this country has come too far to allow a single person to declare war without

03:22conferring with the Congress of the United States of America. This is where I stand, this

03:27is what I will do, and I do it in the name of my country that I love dearly. I thank you Mr. Speaker

03:33and I yield back the balance of my time.