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Democrats Say Trump Impeachment Charges Must Come Swiftly

   WASHINGTON - House Democrats moved aggressively to draw up formal
   articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump on Thursday,
   with Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying he "leaves us no choice" but to act
   swiftly because he's likely to corrupt the system again unless removed
   before next year's election.
   A strictly partisan effort at this point, derided immediately by Trump
   and other leading Republicans as a sham and a hoax, it is a politically
   risky undertaking. Democrats say it is their duty, in the aftermath of
   the Ukraine probe, while Republicans say it will drive Pelosi's
   majority from office.
   Congress must act, Pelosi said. "The democracy is what is at stake."
   "The president's actions have seriously violated the Constitution," she
   said in a somber address at the Capitol. "He is trying to corrupt, once
   again, the election for his own benefit. The president has engaged in
   abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardizing the
   integrity of our elections."
   Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong. He tweeted that the Democrats
   "have gone crazy."
   At the core of the impeachment probe is a July phone call with the
   president of Ukraine, in which Trump pressed the leader to investigate
   Democrats, including political rival Joe Biden. At the same time the
   White House was withholding military aid from Ukraine, an ally
   bordering an aggressive Russia.
   Drafting articles of impeachment is a milestone moment, only the fourth
   time in U.S. history Congress has tried to remove a president, and it
   intensifies the rigid and polarizing partisanship of the Trump era that
   is consuming Washington and dividing the nation.

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