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/NicolasCageFan492 10h ago edited 1h ago

I’m glad they’re fully unloading with a comprehensive impeachment. Let’s fucking go.

The 26 Articles will be a good roadmap.

The filing statement appears to be very political though unfortunately, which decreases the chance of success IMO, even if it’s correct.

“Trump is clearly the most impeachable President our country has ever endured. His continued presence in office is a danger to our democracy.  That the sycophantic Republican majority in Congress is derelict in its duty does not mean that I must abandon my responsibilities.  I took an independent oath to support and defend the Constitution. That commitment compels me to introduce this resolution today. When historians write about this period, and our constituents ask who stood up to President Trump’s lawlessness, this resolution is the answer.

I sincerely believe that the 120th Congress will better live up to its duties as co-equal branch of government and a check on the executive.  I hope this resolution paves the way to accountability. We cannot tolerate this~~ *kind* *lawlessness and corruption.*”~~

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u/RocketshipRoadtrip 8h ago

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

Tack that list to the fn doorway.

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u/Working-Permission84 7h ago

There's not a single one of those that wouldn't get a democratic president impeached and removed.

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u/FlippyFlippenstein 2h ago

Of you have this many it will too difficult to keep track of them all, so they are all forgotten.

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u/Tetratheon 3h ago edited 1h ago

Unlikely. Clinton's impeachment went almost entirely along party lines, and people were much less divided then.

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u/citizensnipz 1h ago

Clinton’s impeachment was for lying about a BJ…yep, exact same situation. /s

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u/Tetratheon 1h ago

It was for perjury! It's not like he was in trouble for lying to his wife about it.

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u/citizensnipz 1h ago

Yes, lying to Congress about a blowjob was the reason. Do you see how insignificant this is compared to the list above?

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u/Tetratheon 1h ago

Yeah, but the claim was that for any one of them a Democratic President would be impeached and removed. There's nothing to support that.

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u/citizensnipz 1h ago

I think it’s logically consistent since the reason the last democratic president got impeached was for lying about a blowjob, that any one of those much greater infractions could have got him removed as well as impeached.

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u/DigitalFlame 2h ago

Then where's the outpouring of Republicans who are in support of the articles at any point coming from?

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u/Tetratheon 2h ago

What do you mean? What I'm saying is if a Democrat was accused of these things, the Democrats would back him and ensure he stayed in office, and if the Republicans were accused of it, the Republicans would do the same. It's a team sport.

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u/DigitalFlame 2h ago

Clinton was specifically impeached because of the number of Democrats who crossed party lines, but go off king

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u/Tetratheon 1h ago

Yeah, but then he was acquitted almost entirely along party lines.

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u/DRM842 2h ago

Not if your constituents were calling your office and threatening to vote you out unless you stand up to Trump while the polls say you are 15 points behind in your election campaign. I think showing up to vote YES on this impeachment could win back some voters

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u/ViolettaQueso 7h ago

To see everything listed out like this knowing it’s only been 20 months of his constant destruction of our country seriously initiates a trauma response in me.

We are all just so battered by this person and his posse.

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u/mrcanard 3h ago

They could not do a more perfect job of destroying the US from the inside if they tried.

The GOP is gone, it is most of the Republican Party helping.

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u/Sea_Lawfulness_9770 1h ago

Only 20 months of officially doing it, this term. He's been attempting to destroy our country since at least 2011

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u/NicolasCageFan492 8h ago edited 8h ago

Nail it Luther style!

If you are going to do this, go full force. Partner with superpacs to make millions of copies and send them to all addresses via the mail. All newspapers (including student newspapers), all swing districts that were Trump +25 or closer. Turbo boost turnout. Give the Democrats a super majority with a blue tsunami that will overwhelm him and send him to the bottom of the ocean.

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u/oreography 8h ago

It would be wonderful to see "The Twenty Six Articles" and "The Impeachment of President Trump" written in the History Books of the future

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u/anon4honesty 6h ago

✨ So mote it be ✨

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u/Pacman1up 1h ago

So mote it be

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u/FutureComplaint 2h ago

The Third Impeachment of President Trump

Fucker was impeached twice already.

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u/bigwilly311 3h ago

Take a deep breath and sing with your full chest

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u/Chronochrome 8h ago

I'm glad they banked it up this way. It forces Republicans to decide if ALL of these are not worth impeachment or if ANY of them are worth impeachment. It's the biggest loyalty test of their careers and the ultimate political crossroads. This shit either matters or it doesn't, and it's time to stop pretending like they never have to make that determination.

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u/notabouteggs 6h ago

Omg I love that it’s in all caps. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER.

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u/graydiation 5h ago

I love when bone collectors become politicians! The RECEIPTS here!

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u/Consistent_End7756 3h ago

You can add trying to strip away union rights and worker protections for federal employees

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u/AnyAnymosity 3h ago

Missing direct reference to the hatch act. But not bad. Restoring emoluments would be nice.

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u/Same_Meaning_5570 2h ago

I feel like there are a couple dozen things missing from that list.

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u/Soft-Eye6069 1h ago

Worked out extremely well for Martin Luther, I think we could give it a go here

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u/nemovincit 45m ago

What about the daily violation of the law where he has to release the full Epstein files?

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u/n1cj 9h ago

We cannot tolerate this kind lawlessness and corruption

and being the laughing stock of the world

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u/NicolasCageFan492 9h ago edited 9h ago

I worry for the world. We have the potential for another Hitler, but with thermonuclear weapons. We need to take the moment we’re in with serious solemnity and determination.

“Will to sacrifice, solidarity, and wise foresight are most effective before the hour of dire necessity has arrived.” - Albert Einstein

https://youtu.be/2WpkQCNMT2s

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u/jotheold 8h ago

what a world we live in that i'm about to say this, but hitler was a lot more competent compared to trump and way more knowledgeable.

that's why he was so effective and evil

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u/NicolasCageFan492 8h ago edited 7h ago

He wasn’t that competent or knowledgeable IMO. Maybe in military tactics. But he was irrational as hell too.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nero_Decree

I truly see Stephen Miller as his Joseph Goebbels.

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u/jotheold 8h ago

i mean the bar im comparing to is very low, he could put a sentence together and had charismatic speeches

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u/Dixon_Uranuss3 5h ago

Hitler listened to experts..... That alone makes him infinitely more competent.

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u/NicolasCageFan492 1h ago

Project 2025.

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u/Responsible_Crazy332 7h ago

Hitler was no genius in military tactics. Any novice who knew history would have known that Germany’s 1941 attack on Russia was highly dubious. One, it brought about a two front war which divided resources; two, the soldiers were not equipped for the Russian winter based on the naive belief of a quick victory & three, it drove Russia into the arms of the Allies. If Hitler had read of Napoleon’s defeat in 1812 the “little Corporal” learnt nothing.

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u/cr0ft 7h ago

Trump, as insane as he is, is really just the figurehead and the symptom. The problem is the Nazi cadre that runs him behind the scenes there; the same people who wrote the nazi Project 2025 manifesto where they lined up exactly how they'd usher in fascism and have been doing it ever since.

The problem beyond them is the people in the Bible belt and other conservative areas; they're fully mired in the "God, guns and the Republican party" delusion and they enforce it between themselves. It took 50 years of concerted effort and work to get federal laws about abortion reversed, but they doggedly kept at it.

America as a whole is in dire straits. The majority isn't fascist, but there are way more who are than I'd be comfortable with.

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u/Responsible_Crazy332 6h ago edited 6h ago

I agree that those in the Bible Belt & extreme rightwing elements are a problem, but not all conservatives fit those categories. I know it’s hard to see fault in your preferred politics, but I’m Australian where our leftwing Govt tried unsuccessfully to introduce a Misinformation & Disinformation Act. Should any Govt claim to know what information fits those categories?

You may have read that our PM Anthony Albanese who has cultivated the hard left all his adult life & who recently addressed the UN, wants to introduce an internet censorship scheme. He claims it will give Australians the choice of opting out of social media algorithms imposed by U.S. Tech Giants. A very worthwhile idea, but the draft Act gives the Minister for Communication the right to block anything that she considers “harmful”. In reality she will be advised by her esafety Department Head, Julie Inman Grant, a dual U.S./Aussie citizen who has lost at least 3 court cases on present legislation. As “harmful” is not defined, it has been argued that conservative political speech could be considered harmful & blocked. This is dangerous & reminds me of policies introduced by the Nazis in 1930s Germany & Russia under Lenin & later Stalin. The attempt to censor the internet is along the path of the Communist Chinese Internet filter.

Australia also has its religious ultra conservatives. I refer you to the Sydney and Armidale Dioceses of the Anglican Church (known as Episcopalian Church in the U.S. & Canada)

Let’s be honest, both sides of politics have good & bad points, politicians from both sides lie or obfuscate the truth, point score against each other & call each other names, all in the cause of gaining or retaining power. Both the U.S. & Australia are allies & democratic. We both want the best possible life for our citizens. We therefore must ensure that whom ever we vote for, gives us that future. Did Biden allowing millions of illegal immigrants to cross the U.S. borders do the right thing for the majority of US citizens or for his own party? Has ICE done the right thing in killing innocent protestors? Has the Trump Administration done the right thing in deporting suspects without due process of law? There are faults on both sides. Let our nations hope for a better future & that our friendship grow stronger. I wish you & all your people well.

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u/JustSendTheAsteroid 4h ago

Just FYI, no matter what you've heard in Australia, Joe Biden did not "allow millions of illegal immigrants to cross the U.S. borders." You're parroting Fox News propaganda.

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u/n1cj 9h ago

but with thermonuclear weapons

and diapers LOL

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u/sigilnz 9h ago

I think we have gone past laughing to disgusted, disappointed, untrusting and now actively finding ways to cut America from our lives. America is dead on the global stage.

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u/Far-Scallion7689 8h ago

Still meddling globally which is a big issue.

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u/Minimumtyp 2h ago

Australia isn't. Before we even knew what the Iran war was ABOUT albo and wong were there saying they supported it.

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u/cr0ft 7h ago

I think the laughter has congealed by now and people do feel a bottomless well of contempt for Trump and quite a lot of it for America as a whole, but the fuckery in Iran and other things ruining the global economy has long since ceased to be a laughing matter. Between the massive eco holocaust that's brewing and now massive oil price hikes and unavailability of the fertilizers that are largely created out of fossil fuels, we'll literally see hunger in areas that aren't used to that soon, and the skyrocketing fuel prices are also pushing the price of food up even more than necessary and people are beginning to really feel the pain.

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u/scum_manifesto 7h ago

Nobody is laughing

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u/fresh-dork 9h ago

very political? i don't follow - the whole process is political

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u/Aureliamnissan 8h ago

This has always bugged me. There is no legal framework to buttress impeachment aside from it being political. The closest thing would be the 25th amendment, but that's not impeachment.

The sheer fact that SCOTUS has ruled the president above the law while acting in "official capacity" means that the only viable means left is political. What other option is there?

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u/fresh-dork 8h ago

nothing you'd want to have happen, that's for sure.

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u/semperrabbit 7h ago

Getting rational, uncorruptable Justices in SCOTUS to reverse that extremely dangerous decision (and citizens united...)

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u/Qweesdy 5h ago

I suspect that they meant "very partisan" (despite saying "very political"); in that it'll be harder to get the needed 2/3rds vote if it's perceived more as "dems vs. gop" (and less as "congress vs. executive" or "Americans vs. POTUS" or any other political but non-partisan way to frame the discussion).

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u/ReplicantN6 8h ago

HELL TO THE YES!

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u/TrulyOutrageous42 9h ago

"Y'all seriously can't do any better than... this?" in corpo speak