The New York Times editorial board is calling for President Donald Trump to be impeached, publishing an editorial on Saturday saying that Congress has “no choice” but to pass the articles of impeachment and move forward with the process that could lead to Trump’s removal from office.
In a piece titled “Impeach,” the collection of opinion writers said that the two articles of impeachment passed this week by the House Judiciary Committee tell a “short, simple and damning” story of Trump’s abuse of power by pressuring Ukraine into digging up dirt on political rival Joe Biden. The piece noted that Ukraine was vulnerable, needing not to risk the congressionally approved military aid that Trump is accused of withholding as he sought for the country’s government to announce an investigation into Biden and his son, Hunter.
The piece also said Trump was guilty of obstruction of Congress by refusing to respond to subpoenas for documents and testimony from top White House officials with knowledge of Trump’s actions and the motivations behind them.
“By stonewalling as no previous president has, Donald Trump has left Congress with no choice but to press ahead to a Senate trial,” the editorial read.
The New York Times now joins a number of other prominent newspapers that have endorsed impeaching Trump. As the Tampa Bay Times noted, the Los Angeles Times , Boston Globe , and Washington Post have all published editorials calling for his impeachment.
The Wall Street Journal took a different tack, criticizing Democrats for rushing into impeachment and blaming it on their partisan dislike of Trump.
“Americans will decide in 11 months whether Mr. Trump deserves to remain in office,” the editorial noted.
“But they should also keep the impeachment vote very much in mind when they decide whether Democrats deserve to keep the House.”
Trump’s team has pushed back against the editorials calling for impeachment.
“Pity liberal editorial writers. They have never recovered from Election Day 2016,” Tim Murtaugh, communications director for Trump’s re-election campaign, told the Washington Examiner after the New York Times published its editorial in support of impeachment.
After the articles passed the House Judiciary Committee this week, the full House will move to vote on them in the coming days, though the exact schedule is not set. The articles are expected to pass by the Democratic-led House, though it is unlikely that the required two-thirds of Senate will vote to remove Trump from office.
