McBath impeachment vote

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath voted with her fellow House Democrats Wednesday as DonaldTrump became the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

The 6th District Congresswoman, who represents most of East Cobb, voted for both articles of impeachment that she also had supported last week in the House Judiciary Committee.

The vote on Article 1, abuse of power, was 230-197; and for Article 2, obstruction of Congress, the vote was 229-198.

Trump was charged on the first article for allegations that he threatened to withhold foreign aid to the government of Ukraine if it did not investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a Democratic presidential candidate.

The second article alleged that the president impeded its investigation in the Ukraine matter.

Only two Democrats voted with the Republican minority. Another Democrat, Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who’s running for president, voted “present” on both articles, saying she preferred that the House censure and not impeach Trump.

Barry Loudermilk, a Republican who also represents Cobb County and is a strong Trump supporter, noted in floor remarks before the votes that:

“One week before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind: When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president in this process.”

Republicans have charged the impeachment process has been motivated entirely for partisan reasons, and that it’s being done to subvert the 2016 presidential election.

McBath is among a few dozen House Democrats who represent districts that voted for the president. Trump carried the 6th District, which also includes North Fulton, Sandy Springs and North DeKalb, but only with 51 percent.

McBath, who last year became the first Democrat to win the district in 40 years, is being targeted again nationally.

The two Republicans running for the seat, former Rep. Karen Handel and Marjorie Greene Taylor, have been critical of McBath on impeachment.

Last weekend, Trump supporters protested outside her Sandy Springs office.

Trump joins Andrew Johnson (1867) and Bill Clinton (1998) as presidents who’ve been impeached in the House. Both were acquitted in trials in the U.S. Senate and served the remainder of their terms.

The current Senate has a Republican majority. Georgia Sen. David Perdue is a strong defender of Trump, and incoming Sen., Kelly Loeffler, who succeeds the retiring Johnny Isakson in January, blasted the House process as an impeachment “scam.”

Trump has been Tweeting his displeasure with the impeachment vote, calling it a “hoax,” and retweeting others critical of the Democrats. He also Tweeted this:

I got Impeached last night without one Republican vote being cast with the Do Nothing Dems on their continuation of the greatest Witch Hunt in American history. Now the Do Nothing Party want to Do Nothing with the Articles & not deliver them to the Senate, but it’s Senate’s call!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 19, 2019

 

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U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath of Georgia’s 6th Congressional District voted with the Democratic House majority on Thursday to move forward with an impeachment process against President Donald Trump.

The vote, which passed 232-196, is not a vote to impeach, but to set forth procedures for conducting an impeachment inquiry.

(You can read a draft of the resolution here.)

Only two Democrats voted against the resolution, which followed some fierce floor debate. All House Republicans, among them Barry Loudermilk of the 11th District of Georgia, which includes some of Cobb County, voted against the measure.

The vote comes after revelations of the president’s communications with the government of Ukraine. Specifically, Trump is alleged to have told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in a July phone conversation that U.S. military aid to that Eastern European nation was contingent upon conducting an investigation into Democratic presidential candidate and former vice president Joe Biden.

The White House has denied what has been referred to as a “quid pro quo,” and Republican members of Congress last week stormed a closed-door impeachment meeting held by Democrats, delaying a deposition by several hours.

McBath, a first-term Democrat from Marietta, is a member of the House Judiciary Committee. She voted September in favor of an impeachment inquiry based on information presented in special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in U.S. elections.

That report could not conclude that Trump or his campaign colluded with the Russian government.

Since then, Trump supporters have protested in front of McBath’s district headquarters in Sandy Springs.

Last fall, McBath edged Karen Handel to win the 6th District, which includes most of East Cobb, a flip that helped the Democrats take control of the House.

The 6th District is considered a swing seat for 2020, and it’s where Trump won with only 51 percent of the vote in the 2016 presidential race.

In a statement issued by her press office, McBath said Thursday afternoon that “I voted to formalize the rules for the inquiry process and continue to support the responsibility of this Congress to secure the truth and defend the Constitution.”

Handel, one of several Republicans who’s announced for the 2020 race, said that “today’s resolution continues the illegitimate sham process that has been underway in the House for some 37 days. It’s a process that denies fairness, denies due process, and provides for selective leaks and secret interviews.”

State Sen. Brandon Beach, another GOP candidate, said “Lucy McBath finally showed her true allegiance to Speaker Pelosi & ‘woke’ Democrats who have been working for three years to remove a DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED President and undo his economic policies.”

Only two presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson, Abraham Lincoln’s successor, in 1868, and Bill Clinton in 1998. Both survived Senate trials that would have removed them from office.

In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee returned three articles of impeachment against Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, but he resigned before a full House vote.

Should Trump be impeached, he also would be tried in the Senate, which has a Republican majority, including Johnny Isakson and David Perdue of Georgia.

But a trial would likely come after Isakson’s retirement at the end of the year due to health reasons. Gov. Brian Kemp has not yet selected a successor who would serve through a special election next year.

 

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