×

Stefanik, Greene introduce resolutions to undo Trump’s dual impeachments

WASHINGTON — Congresswoman Elise Stefanik has partnered with controversial Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on two resolutions that would expunge both impeachments of former President Donald Trump.

Late on Thursday, Stefanik, R-Willsboro, released a joint press statement alongside Greene, R-Ga., announcing the introduction of two resolutions that would expunge the impeachments against the former president filed on Dec. 18, 2019 and Jan. 13, 2021, reversing them as if they had never occurred.

Stefanik, who garnered national attention for the first time in her defense of Trump during the first impeachment process in 2019, has long held that both impeachments were unconstitutional, and Greene was elected to Congress in 2020 with the promise to undo the impeachments.

“The American people know Democrats weaponized the power of impeachment against President Donald Trump to advance their own extreme political agenda,” Stefanik said.

“From the beginning of this sham process, I stood up against Nancy Pelosi and Adam Schiff’s blatant attempt to shred the Constitution as House Democrats ignored the Constitution and failed to follow the legislative process.”

Citing the fact that Trump, while impeached, was never found guilty during trial in the Senate, and said she believes it’s time to clear the former President’s name, even as he fights at two separate criminal cases, with multiple charges each, in New York state and federal court in Florida.

In 2019, Trump was impeached in the Democrat-led House on two separate articles, citing abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, alleging that Trump had used the powers of government to garner help in the 2020 election from Ukraine. Democrats alleged that Trump had pressured the Ukrainian government to investigate then-candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter’s connection to the Ukrainian national gas company Burisma, and threatened to withhold defense aid if they did not.

In 2020, Trump was impeached for a historic second time, on an article citing incitement of insurrection, this time for his involvement and alleged incitement of the mob that attacked Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

In both cases, Trump’s impeachment went to the Senate for trial, but failed to reach the 67-vote threshold required to convict and remove a president from office.

Stefanik authored the resolution to expunge the 2021 impeachment, while Rep. Greene introduce the resolution to expunge the 2019 impeachment. Rep. Stefanik used her resolution to go into detail on why she believes Trump’s impeachment should be invalidated, and used the document to cast further doubt on the 2020 election results. Stefanik cited a number of anecdotal issues that she said should cast doubt on an election that legal experts, voting analysts and even the Trump-appointed election integrity monitor have all repeatedly affirmed to have been a free, fair and accurately-tabulated election.

She pointed to the fact that Trump won 18 of 19 counties across the nation that have historically predicted the presidency, although those counties have not always been “bellwethers” and some have seen significant voting pattern changes in recent years. She also cited a legal debate that had swirled around the second impeachment, which came just a few weeks before Trump’s term as president ended and saw a Senate trial after he had left office, arguing that a president who left office cannot be impeached.

The resolutions come on the heels of a push by some House Republicans to impeach President Joe Biden, with articles of impeachment introduced against him by Rep. Greene in May and a push by Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., that restarted on Wednesday, prompting an argument between Reps. Greene and Boebert on the House floor.

“It’s clear that President Trump’s impeachment was nothing more than a witch hunt that needs to be expunged from our history,” Greene said. “I’m proud to work with Chairwoman (of the House Republican Conference) Elise Stefanik on our joint resolutions to correct the record and clear President Trump’s good name.”

As the resolutions relate to House-specific actions, they would not need to be approved by the Senate to take effect, and the now-majority Republican House could see fit to take them up, although it’s unclear if a majority of the House’s membership would agree to the unprecedented step of undoing an impeachment. Both Stefanik’s and Greene’s resolutions were referred to the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, where they will be voted on by the committee before advancing to a possible floor vote at the will of Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

Starting at $4.75/week.

Subscribe Today