WASHINGTON – The US House voted Wednesday to impeach Donald Trump for the second time. One Congressional Republican member voted in favor of the impeachment article declaring President Trump incited violence with false claims claiming he won the election by a landslide.
In a vote with 221 Democrats and 10 Republicans voting yes, and 197 voting no, the US House referred impeachment to the US Senate.
Via text, Illinois Congressman Darin LaHood gave Illinois Review reasons why he voted against the measure, and his views on other hot topics conservatives are discussing throughout the state:
1). Today, I proudly voted to NOT impeach President Trump. We should be using this time to bring our nation together and heal the partisan divisions. Unfortunately, Democrats believe that cancel culture and impeachment are the path to unity and healing. Nancy Pelosi and her Democrat colleagues have once again decided to put political games before the people. I have ZERO interest in taking part in this. I stand with President Trump🇺🇸.
2). The censorship of conservatives and Republicans by Big Tech has to STOP! I support and will vote to repeal the Section 230 protection for these tech companies. Censorship, wokeness, political correctness, it all points in one direction – authoritarianism, cloaked as moral righteousness. It’s not who we are as Americans. I will do all I can to fight Big Tech and their criminal censorship!
3). Rioters and protesters who broke the law and attacked the US Capitol need to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Likewise, the criminal activity of BLM and Antifa need to be held to the same standard and accountable. Those BLM and Antifa perpetrators and anarchists should be equally prosecuted for their criminal activity and un-American actions. Unfortunately, there is a clear double standard when the Left incites violence. This needs to end.
In a formal press release, LaHood's office explained his vote with more information:
In less than seven days, we will inaugurate President-elect Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States. We should be using this time to bring our nation together, heal the partisan divisions, and move forward with a peaceful transfer of power. As I have listened to constituents on both sides of the political spectrum this week, a common frustration and anger are evident among many Americans. In this moment of escalating tensions, Congress must rise above the division and help heal our nation.
As I stated last week, our Constitution is clear in laying out Congress' obligation to count and certify the Electoral College votes. I also believe our Constitution does not envision impeaching a President without an adequate investigation or hearings. Our democratic system is predicated on due process and a thorough review of the underlying facts and evidence. Congress has yet to even receive a full briefing by the appropriate federal authorities on the events that occurred surrounding the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th.
I oppose impeachment. Pushing articles of impeachment days before the inauguration will only inflame and further divide our country.
The impeachment article that passed the US House includes this wording:
On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the 12th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College. In the months preceding the Joint Session, President Trump repeatedly issued false statements asserting that the Presidential election results were the product of widespread fraud and should not be accepted by the American people or certified by State or Federal officials. Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump, addressed a crowd at the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. There, he reiterated false claims that “we won this election, and we won it by a landslide.” He also willfully made statements that, in context, encouraged – and foreseeably resulted in – lawless action at the Capitol, such as: “if you don’t fight like hell you’re not going to have a country any more.” Thus incited by President Trump, members of the crowd he had addressed, in an attempt to, among other objectives, interfere with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the results of the 2020 Presidential election, unlawfully breached and vandalized the Capitol, injured and killed law enforcement personnel, menaced Members of Congress, the Vice President, and Congressional personnel, and engaged in other violent, deadly, destructive and seditious acts.
