Impeachment today: What you need to know

Democratic Chairman Jerry Nadler, left, and Republican Ranking Member Doug Collins attend the House Judiciary Committee’s markup of House Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill on Dec. 12, 1029 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harrer/POOL/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Democratic Chairman Jerry Nadler, left, and Republican Ranking Member Doug Collins attend the House Judiciary Committee’s markup of House Resolution 755, Articles of Impeachment Against President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill on Dec. 12, 1029 in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harrer/POOL/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

The House Judiciary Committee is debating two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump today — the second day of a marathon session at the Capitol.

Yesterday, Democrats and Republicans used the meeting to deliver sharp arguments for and against impeachment. Both sides appealed to Americans’ sense of history — Democrats describing a duty to stop what one called the president’s “constitutional crime spree” and Republicans decrying the “hot garbage’’ impeachment and what it means for the future of the country.

U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Urbana, yesterday called the impeachment inquiry a sham designed to make sure President Donald Trump isn’t re-elected in 2020.

“Democrats are never going to stop with their attacks because they can’t stand the fact that President Trump is actually draining the swamp, doing what he said he’d do and most importantly getting results,” he said.

The articles of impeachment charge Trump with abuse of power for asking Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden while withholding nearly $400 million in aid as leverage, and obstruction of Congress for stonewalling the House’s investigation.

The committee will likely vote today to send the articles to the full House, which is expected to vote next week.

Information from The Associated Press is included in this report.

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