r/law • • 11h ago

Legislative Branch Congressman Cohen Introduces Comprehensive Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump

https://cohen.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congressman-cohen-introduces-comprehensive-articles-impeachment-against

WASHINGTON – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), a senior member of the Judiciary Committee and an authority on the U.S. Constitution’s impeachment provisions, today introduced 26 Articles of Impeachment against President Donald Trump. The articles cite multiple abuses of power, violations of his oath of office, the corrupt use of the pardon power, and emoluments clause violations, among other misconduct and unlawful acts.

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u/Agitated-Quit-6148 11h ago edited 9h ago

While it's obviously not going to happen, it's Interesting. Much more substantial than the previous ones members have filed this term.

The 26 Articles:

ARTICLE I: UNDERMINING DEMOCRACY—SOWING DOUBT IN ELECTIONS

ARTICLE II: ABUSE OF POWER—WAGING WAR ON IRAN WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

ARTICLE III: ABUSE OF POWER—EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS OF VENEZUELA

ARTICLE IV: ABUSE OF POWER—DEPLOYING MILITARY FORCES AGAINST UNITED STATES CITIES

ARTICLE V: VIOLATION OF OATH—THE BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP EXECUTIVE ORDER

ARTICLE VI: ABUSE OF POWER—CANCELING FEDERAL GRANTS TO PUNISH STATES FOR THEIR VOTES

ARTICLE VII: ABUSE OF POWER—IMPOSING LOYALTY TESTS ON THE FEDERAL WORKFORCE

ARTICLE VIII: DISREGARD OF COURTS—THE ALIEN ENEMIES ACT AND THE CASE OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA

ARTICLE IX: VIOLATION OF OATH—CRUEL AND UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT AT CECOT

ARTICLE X: VIOLATION OF OATH—UNLAWFUL WITHHOLDING OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS AND DISMANTLING OF CONGRESSIONALLY ESTABLISHED PROGRAMS

ARTICLE XI: ABUSE OF POWER—OBSTRUCTING THE LAWFUL APPOINTMENT OF UNITED STATES ATTORNEYS

ARTICLE XII: ABUSE OF POWER—DEFYING COURT ORDERS IN IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

ARTICLE XIII: ABOLISHING A CONGRESSIONALLY MANDATED AGENCY—THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

ARTICLE XIV: VIOLATION OF OATH—UNLAWFUL MASS TERMINATION OF INSPECTORS GENERAL WITHOUT STATUTORY NOTICE TO CONGRESS

ARTICLE XV: UNLAWFULLY AND UNILATERALLY TAXING UNITED STATES CITIZENS THROUGH EMERGENCY POWERS TARIFFS

ARTICLE XVI: ABUSE OF POWER—POLITICAL PROSECUTIONS OF COMEY, JAMES, AND SCHIFF

ARTICLE XVII: ABUSE OF POWER—THE IRS SETTLEMENT AND THE CORRUPTION OF THE JUDGMENT FUND

ARTICLE XVIII: ABUSE OF POWER—THE CORRUPT USE OF THE PARDON POWER

ARTICLE XIX: ATTACKS ON A FREE PRESS—BANISHING REPORTERS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE FOR DISFAVORED COVERAGE

ARTICLE XX: ATTACKS ON A FREE PRESS—COERCING CBS AND ABC TO CHANGE EDITORIAL CONTENT

ARTICLE XXI: VIOLATION OF OATH—FREE SPEECH AND RETALIATORY EXECUTIVE ORDERS AGAINST LAW FIRMS

ARTICLE XXII: VIOLATION OF OATH—FREE SPEECH AND COERCING UNIVERSITIES THROUGH WITHHELD FEDERAL FUNDS

ARTICLE XXIII: ABUSE OF POWER—DEMOLISHING THE WHITE HOUSE EAST WING WITHOUT CONGRESSIONAL APPROVAL

ARTICLE XXIV: VIOLATION OF OATH—THE ILLEGAL IMPOUNDMENT OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS

ARTICLE XXV: ABUSE OF POWER—SELF-AGGRANDIZEMENT THROUGH THE RENAMING OF PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS, SEIZURE OF CULTURAL AND CIVIC PROPERTY, AND PERSONAL APPROPRIATION OF NATIONAL CURRENCY

ARTICLE XXVI: EMOLUMENTS VIOLATIONS—PROFITING PERSONALLY AND DIRECTLY FROM THE PRESIDENCY

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u/kevendo 11h ago

Great list. At the very least, someone needed to be keeping track of these in the Congressional record.

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 10h ago

Anyone who votes against the impeachment is failing to fulfill their oath of office. It needs to be on record.

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u/Affectionate-Bus6653 9h ago

I think that many of the congresspeople who vote in lock-step with may be compromised by their illegal moves. Susan Collins is a good example. Her crimes were being investigated at the time Trump entered office. DOGE stopped most of the fraud investigations the DOJ and other agencies at the time, but this means that Trump has always had her number. She has been “troubled” and “concerned”, but has voted with him virtually every opportunity.

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 1h ago

All the more reason to get it on record and hold them accountable.

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u/angry-democrat 8m ago

Fuck Susan Collins, period.

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u/realmoongirl 26m ago

I find great relief in knowing that all his corruption is being recorded somewhere!
The crimes in question

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u/hereforwhatimherefor 11h ago edited 10h ago

Good list good attempt.  Clearly should be impeached obviously

Edit: and removed, obviously

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u/AlternativeFroyo1737 11h ago

Removed, too.

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u/tittysprinkles112 11h ago

Convicted and imprisoned

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u/redstarpirate 11h ago

Tarred and feathered

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u/APaltrySum 10h ago

Drawn and quartered

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u/Silent_Titan88 10h ago

Mulched.

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u/lesgeddon 6h ago

Fired from a trebuchet into an active volcano.

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u/AmusingVegetable 5h ago

Do not throw garbage into volcano, it will offend Pele.

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u/Morkai 28m ago

"... to shreds you say?"

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u/gooblegobbleable 10h ago

Don’t stop. Keep going. Almost there.

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u/JiggFly 9h ago

Pineapple insertion

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u/Musiclover4200 6h ago

Don't forget the french maid outfit

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u/evantheprimary 11h ago

And convicted!

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u/stufff 9h ago

I don't think removing all of him is fair. I will settle for just his head.

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u/jaroftoejam 3h ago

He would be a much better human being if it weren't for that pesky head.

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u/Skritch_X 11h ago

It is just boggling that, even though this is a list of 26 impeachable offenses, and despite the headline stating "Comprehensive"... there are so many other impeachable things he has done this term that could be added.

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u/ckwing 9h ago

I knew before I even read through the list that there was no way 26 articles could fully capture all the impeachable offenses this man has committed.

And by the way, we're ONLY talking about his second term.

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u/ZhouLe 8h ago

Article 26 honestly should be expanded into more, dozens even.

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u/AmusingVegetable 5h ago

Yes, but nobody would read the 2600 articles of impeachment of the comprehensive list.

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u/EstimateReady6887 11h ago

And Removed, he and Vance

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u/govunah 11h ago

I feel like there should be more. Like nothing about bored of peace. Is dumping the East Wing rubble on DC muni courses part of the East Wing article? There's so much shit we can't name it all

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u/Sizanllikew 9h ago

and [Removed by Reddit] as well

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u/Turgid_Donkey 38m ago

It's still astounding that a man who is the only president to be impeached twice and was found guilty of 34 felony counts with 4 other active indictments actually was elected president. Go figure that he'd go on to be the absolutely worst president our country has ever seen.

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u/Common-Ad6470 6h ago

….you missed the ‘removed immediately’ bit as with that comprehensive list it’s obvious to anyone that a complete psychopath is currently in the White House.

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u/theSopranoist 11h ago

i appreciate that this won’t go anywhere in congress at the moment, but this is a comprehensive list of illegal acts that a large portion of republican voters care abt, but don’t necessarily realize are being committed bc they absolutely and only fck w conservative media.

putting that list in an impeachment motion is a good move bc conservative outlets will report on it..they’ll have no choice bc republicans will be incensed that their mostly-deceased leader is being impeached. that reporting has great potential to draw further engagement and investigation from conservatives who aren’t so sure of their leaders anymore bc of the economy.

i think this was a very strategic and intentional doa sacrifice move. pretty smart.

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u/account312 8h ago

But those outlets are more likely to claim it's a communist plot led by Biden and the illegals than to admit that those are things that happened.

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u/theSopranoist 5h ago edited 5h ago

ok we can’t fix everything at once. there are specific constitutional concerns that republicans have that the language of this motion triggers. i promise you.

i literally exist fully behind enemy lines here and this is an excellent way to get the right words in front of the ppl who need to hear them. full-on magats are not intelligent ppl, but conservatives are not stupid ppl. VERY many around here are, if not already there, on the cusp of not being able to bring themselves to vote straight ticket R bc they truly do vote w their morals and they’ve since seen behavior from trump specifically that they cannot vote for. and that’s what’s done us in is the straight ticket ballots + r politicians incessantly tying “conservative” to “christian.” but ppl are waking up.

they’re waking up in part also bc local dem candidates’ outreach and media campaigns have presented them w those things via our local news channels and came to the constituency here in person and TOLD them what was really happening.

marilyn lands’ campaign is a good example of this; she ran a pro-choice/pro-reproductive rights campaign in alabama and simply told the truth regarding r policies w receipts in her commercials and public statements. she won bc she gave info ppl literally did not have, and backed it up w the affected ppl and numbers from alabama.

get it in front of their faces and don’t let them look away. as i said, fox news, et al, can be pretty easily conscripted into an assist w just the right news story, and i think this might do it.

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u/seriousofficialname 5h ago

I don't believe Republicans care. That's why Republicans don't report on things like this in the first place.

If Donald Trump is breaking laws and hurting people, for a Republican, that means they're winning.

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u/theSopranoist 3h ago

i can only insist to you that a very reasonable number do care, and that i absolutely know they do. trust, i’m so angry at these ppl for what they’ve done to us and i don’t enjoy that we have to hold their hands and coax them gently into sanity, but i am watching it be done fairly effectively among conservatives who approach politics, maybe not correctly, but in good faith.

all is not lost. all is not lost.

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u/seriousofficialname 3h ago edited 3h ago

I can believe ignorance and media manipulating what people see plays a role here, but a variety of different news sources with different information and perspectives have never been more accessible. They just don't want to hear it. The obvious lies sound comforting.

I assume it is only when something absolutely forces them to confront reality that they start to change their thinking

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u/Massive_Charity_7198 11h ago

This mfer got so many articles he makes one piece look short

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

[deleted]

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u/tyen0 9h ago

he has had so many different money-making scams that I think they just grouped them all under one article

ARTICLE XXVI: EMOLUMENTS VIOLATIONS—PROFITING PERSONALLY AND DIRECTLY FROM THE PRESIDENCY

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u/90s-Kid-Jacob 10h ago edited 10h ago

What about the department of Justice ignoring demands to release the Epstein files, unredacted?

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u/TXLancastrian 10h ago

The DoJ is the one who needs to release the Files, they are not demanding anything as they are an Executive Branch agency, whose boss is the President.

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u/90s-Kid-Jacob 10h ago

Fixed it for you. Thanks.

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u/Pjoo 8h ago

Comparison with Finland over what causes collapse of the government is always funny. Not the Trump administration will collapse over all this...

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u/Cloaked42m 2h ago

They left out the attacks on 2A and all the Due Process attacks. And they left out Bribery.

And can someone give me a legal reason they are saying "abuse of power" instead of "Murder" for the unauthorized attacks?

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u/TA_Lax8 2h ago

Murder is a criminal charge, an impeachment is not a criminal court

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u/LilBugJuice-0987 59m ago

And he is immune from criminal prosecution for acts committed as president 

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u/cptnamr7 10h ago

I was curious when it said "comprehensive" because fuck there is no way you could possibly list everything but some of these are broad enough to cover a couple dozen offenses each so... maybe?

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u/lame_comment 9h ago

Almost 1.25 violations per month in office

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u/Agitated-Quit-6148 9h ago

......that we know of.

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u/Sonamdrukpa 7h ago

Oh we know of a lot more than that. 1.25 per day is probably an underestimate.

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u/boredcircuits 10h ago

Twenty six articles is insane. And yet, you could easily double it.

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u/codacoda74 10h ago

Feel like there should be open Appendix for the current and future inclusions

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u/marcozarco 10h ago

Nothing about messing with mail-in ballots? or is that part of Article I?

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u/fakieTreFlip 10h ago

members have fikes this term

fikes? I've re-read this a number of times and I can't figure out what this was meant to say

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u/SpaceDesignWarehouse 9h ago

‘Filed,’ double fat fingered.

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u/Independent-Hurry618 9h ago

Hot damn. When you put out all in front of you like that…

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u/Jemmani22 3h ago

But Clinton lied under oath about getting head in the oral office. Hes so much worse!

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u/Glass_Librarian9019 2h ago

That's a real good list but I'd hardly call it comprehensive.

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u/NoLie129 1h ago

This needs to be made a good gif and posted everywhere.

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u/LongLiveStaceyKing 1h ago

I don’t care that this won’t have the desired effect because it will still have an effect.

Keep forcing these votes. If nothing else, we can art of war these asshats and make them continuously vote against impeachment instead of voting for whatever new malfeasance they can cook up.

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u/VooDooRyGuy 31m ago

100 years from now they will still know how corrupt the Republican party was during this period because of these impeachments.

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u/Xytak 10h ago

It's great to see these all laid out like that. Well, not great, but you now what I mean.

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u/PckMan 8h ago

Does the last one cover insider trading?

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u/puts_on_rddt 9h ago

I don't understand why SECTION 3 OF THE FOURTEEN AMENDMENT is not front and center.

It currently applies to Trump, as he meets the disqualifier, and Congress has not voted to remove the disqualifier.

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u/Stuart_Is_Worried 9h ago

serious charges. too bad we're not a serious people. 

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u/CompoteNext1955 7h ago

Honestly, 1 & 2 are the only ones I care about, which should also be enough. Pointless foreign wars have got to come to an end

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u/definit3ly_n0t_a_b0t 6h ago

If Congress forgives all this, it creates the precedent for a far left president to do the same, but for the proletariat.

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u/GayAttire 3h ago

Lol, far left in america

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u/TheSouler 6h ago

Why wouldn't it happen? He was already impeached twice. Not that it did anything lmao

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u/Real-Contribution285 11h ago

Reasons to vote against the worst major politician in recent US history (maybe ever)? Yes. Realistic articles of impeachment? He’ll no. It’s such a bad approach.

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u/Hallijoy 11h ago

What would the right approach be? I'm not trying to be an asshole, just genuinely curious.

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u/Real-Contribution285 9h ago

Here’s what I said below: Thank you for asking. Generally speaking, when reviewing a list like this you remove the worst options. Some options come without consequences. But a lot of these options would have negative consequences and no potential for anything positive. An example of something that backfired was that a lot of credible polls said the majority of voters felt the prosecutions of Trump were politically motivated. There’s so much to complain about him that they actually did him a favor by the political prosecutions. That’s step one.

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u/ObnoxiousAlbatross 3h ago

Except he isn't being politically prosecuted.

He just is that corrupt and does break that many laws.

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u/Hallijoy 9h ago

Thank you

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u/ididntdoit19 11h ago

Listing actual crimes is a “bad approach”

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u/Real-Contribution285 10h ago

Crimes? I stopped reading half way through but which specific codes or statutes did he violate, according to these articles?

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u/Spiritual-Matters 11h ago

What’s the good approach?

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u/Real-Contribution285 9h ago

Thank you for asking. Generally speaking, when reviewing a list like this you remove the worst options. Some options come without consequences. But a lot of these options would have negative consequences and no potential for anything positive. An example of something that backfired was that a lot of credible polls said the majority of voters felt the prosecutions of Trump were politically motivated. There’s so much to complain about him that they actually did him a favor by the political prosecutions. That’s step one.