The night before, he had unloaded on Democrats in an irate and rambling letter to Ms. Pelosi, accusing them of conducting an “illegal, partisan attempted coup.” It was the written equivalent of one of his raucous, arena-style campaign rallies, and on Wednesday around the same time as the House was scheduled to vote, Mr. Trump was expected to take the stage for just such an event in Battle Creek, Mich.
In the House chamber, Democrats rose, one by one, to argue forcefully for the president’s impeachment, asserting that Mr. Trump’s actions had put at risk the integrity of the 2020 election and the country itself.
Drawing on testimony and documentary evidence gathered during a two-month inquiry by the House Intelligence Committee, Democrats accused Mr. Trump of misusing the power of his office when he pressured Ukraine’s president to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and other Democrats, while holding back nearly $400 million in military assistance the country badly needed and a White House meeting for its president.
When lawmakers found out about the scheme and sought to investigate, the president ordered his administration to defy every request from Congress, leading to what Democrats charged was a violation of the separation of powers and a de facto assertion by Mr. Trump that he was above the law.
Source Article from https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/18/us/politics/trump-impeached.html
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