Read the articles of impeachment against President Trump

House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Trump on Tuesday: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The announcement came after weeks of testimony from high-profile witnesses in the impeachment inquiry, on top of months of speculation over the decision to impeach a sitting president. Only two other presidents have been tried for impeachment in American history, and neither have resulted in a conviction and removal.

“Today, in service to our duty to the constitution and to our country, the House Committee on the Judiciaries is introducing two articles of impeachment, charging the President of the United States Donald J. Trump with committing high crimes and misdemeanors,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said Tuesday at a press conference announcing the articles.

Abuse of Power

“The first article is abuse of power. It is an impeachable offense for the president to exercise the powers of his public office to obtain an improper personal benefit while ignoring or injuring the national interest,” Nadler said. “That is exactly what President Trump did when he solicited and pressured Ukraine to interfere in 2020 presidential election.”

“The president’s misconduct is as simple and as terrible as this: President Trump solicited a foreign nation, Ukraine, to publicly announce investigations into his opponent, and a baseless conspiracy theory promoted by Russia to help his reelection campaign,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) said.

Obstruction of Congress

“When he was caught, when the House investigated and opened an impeachment inquiry, President Trump engaged in unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of the impeachment inquiry. This gives rise to the second article of impeachment for obstruction of Congress,” Nadler said.

Schiff then took the torch, reiterating that the second article arose after the impeachment inquiry had already begun.

“When the president got caught he committed his second impeachable act: obstruction of Congress of the very ability to ensure that no one is above the law, not even the President of the United States.

Read the impeachment articles here:

What’s Next?

Later this week, the House Judiciary Committee will meet to consider the articles of impeachment, according to Nadler. That committee will then make a recommendation to the full House of Representatives.

“We do not take this action lightly,” Nadler said. “But we have taken an oath to defend the constitution, and unlike President Trump, we understand that our duty first and foremost is to protect the constitution and to protect the interests of the American people. That is why we must take this solemn step today.”