Democrats unveil articles of impeachment alleging abuse of power, obstruction

House Democrats on Tuesday announced articles of impeachment against President Trump alleging abuse of power and obstruction of Congress regarding his interactions with Ukraine, touching off a rapid-fire sequence that could result in a momentous floor vote in a matter of days.

“The framers of the Constitution prescribed a clear remedy for presidents who so violate their oath of office,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., said. "No one, not even the president, is above the law.”

The key Democratic committee leaders, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., outlined their plans in a brief and pointed statement to the media, and left without taking questions.

Nadler said the judiciary panel will introduce two articles "charging the president with high crimes and misdemeanors." He said the first is dedicated to "abuse of power," alleging the president has "exercised the powers of his office for his personal benefit while ignoring or injuring the public interest." Nadler said Trump put himself before country while endangering national security and America's democracy.

"Trump has engaged in unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of the impeachment inquiry," Nadler added, as he announced the second article focused on obstruction of Congress.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., who has led much of the impeachment inquiry, called impeachment "an extraordinary remedy."

"He has given us no choice," Schiff said of Trump. "To do nothing would make ourselves complicit in the president's abuse of his high office."

While Republicans have blasted the process as political, dubbing it the "focus group impeachment" in response to reports that Democrats tested different allegations with focus groups, Democrats are moving swiftly ahead of the holiday break.