President Donald Trump has been slapped with 26 new articles of impeachment by a House Democrat, accusing him of abuses of power, violations of his oath of office, and a sweeping range of other alleged misconduct. Representative Steve Cohen, a Tennessee Democrat and senior member of the House Judiciary Committee, introduced the articles on September 24, just nine days after the House rejected a separate impeachment effort brought by Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas. The latest effort comes as Democrats remain divided over pursuing impeachment against Trump.
Green's resolution was shelved by the House in a 232-147 vote on September 15, with 18 Democrats joining nearly all Republicans in voting to table it and another 47 lawmakers voting present. Those voting present included House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar. Cohen's resolution is considerably wider than Green's.
Its 26 articles encompass allegations involving Trump's immigration policies, the use of military power, federal spending, tariffs, presidential pardons, the federal workforce, universities, law firms, the media, and alleged personal financial benefit from the presidency. The first article accuses Trump of "undermining democracy" by sowing doubt in elections, while the second alleges an abuse of power by waging war on Iran without congressional approval. Another concerns alleged extrajudicial killings in international waters off Venezuela, while a fourth targets the deployment of military forces against U.S. cities.
Immigration features prominently in the resolution. The articles target Trump's birthright citizenship executive order and the administration's use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. They also make allegations concerning conditions at El Salvador's CECOT prison and accuse the administration of defying court orders in immigration enforcement.
Other articles accuse Trump of unlawfully withholding congressionally appropriated funds, imposing loyalty tests on the federal workforce, improperly terminating inspectors general, and abusing presidential pardon powers. Cohen also targets Trump's dealings with the press, law firms and universities. Two articles accuse the president of attacking press freedom, including by excluding reporters from the White House over coverage and allegedly coercing CBS and ABC to alter editorial content.
The press-freedom allegations come amid an ongoing legal battle over Trump's banishing of CNN, MS NOW and Politico reporters from the White House, with the three outlets suing to regain access. Others concern executive actions against law firms and the withholding of federal funds from universities. The final article alleges that Trump violated the Constitution's emoluments provisions by "profiting personally and directly from the presidency." The claims contained in the resolution are allegations made by Cohen and do not themselves establish that Trump committed impeachable offenses.
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