The Senate has voted that the first article of impeachment against DHS Secretary Mayorkas is unconstitutional because it doesn’t contain a high crime or misdemeanor.
Here is how it went down:
The Senate has rejected Article 1 of Mayorkas impeachment, finding it unconstitutional because it’s not a high crime or misdemeanor.
(Now moving to same on Article 2.)
Notably, 1 Republican — Murkowski — voted “present.” So not bipartisan, but not all Republicans voted…
— Aaron Blake (@AaronBlake) April 17, 2024
The vote was 51-46, with Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting present.
This was a historic vote by the Senate, which has never rejected an article of impeachment as unconstitutional. Republicans in the Senate tried to move the impeachment debate into closed session and then delay the impeachment trial for two weeks.
Senate Republicans are trying to claim that Mayorkas committed a felony by lying to Congress, but there is no evidence that Mayorkas lied to Congress.
House Republicans sent articles of impeachment to the Senate that did not contain a high crime or misdemeanor, so the Senate majority is rejecting them as invalid. Republicans in the Senate claim to be worried about a precedent, but House Republicans already set a precedent by sending such flimsy articles of impeachment to the Senate in the first place.
House Republicans are being thoroughly humiliated as their abuse of the impeachment process is not being tolerated by the Senate majority.
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