Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) claimed Wednesday that President Donald Trump committed “an impeachable act” when he pressured Vice President Mike Pence not to certify the results of the election, but he maintained that the article of impeachment passed by the House is “flawed.”
Explaining before the resolution passed, Roy said during an interview that House Democrats “drafted articles which, I think, fall short and create issues with respect to what ‘inciting a riot’ and ‘inciting an insurrection’ looks like, and I think that’s a problem.”
“They should have focused heavily on the problems I have with the President of the United States pressuring the vice president to ignore his duty, his oath to the Constitution to count the electors as proscribed when he is presiding over the joint session. I thought that was wrong of the president, and I think he should be condemned for it, I think it was an impeachable act, but I think the Democrats have unfortunately gone down a road that make it difficult for some of us to support what they are doing.”
Roy reiterated his opinion during a speech on the House floor prior to the vote, saying, “The President of the United States deserves universal condemnation for what was clearly, in my opinion, impeachable conduct, pressuring the vice president to violate his oath to the Constitution.”
WATCH:
Rep. @chiproytx (R-TX) says President Trump pressuring the VP to not certify election was "impeachable conduct" but thinks Democrats are rushing impeachment effort following deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. @KXAN_News #TX21 pic.twitter.com/eaatcp2827
— John Engel (@EngelsAngle) January 13, 2021
“If that were the case, then I wish that [Rep. Steny Hoyer] and my Democratic colleagues had drafted articles of impeachment better written and taken the time under the Constitution to do it the right way,” Roy told Fox News.
“The problem is that my Democratic colleagues have drafted articles of impeachment that are flawed and that create ongoing issues with respect to what the definition of inciting a riot even is,” Roy said, “and would cause a slippery slope under Article 3 of the 14th Amendment that could actually cause us to be starting to shoot at each other and target each other in the House of Representatives for inciting insurrection.”
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to impeach Trump a second time, making him the first president to be impeached twice.
As The Daily Wire reported:
The House voted on one article of impeachment against the president for allegedly “encourag[ing]…imminent lawless action at the Capitol” after a mob of his supporters breached and vandalized the Capitol last week.
Unlike Trump’s first impeachment, multiple House Republicans joined the Democratic majority, including Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
The article of impeachment now heads to the Senate, where its outcome remains uncertain as Trump’s term expires on Jan. 20 and the Senate does not reconvene until Jan. 19.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly told Republican colleagues that he supported the second impeachment push, hoping that such will offer an opportunity to expel Trump from the Republican Party. McConnell has not revealed how he will vote when the article comes to the Senate floor.