'The president leaves us no choice:' Pelosi announces House moving forward with articles of impeachment

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the U.S. House of Representatives will proceed with Articles of Impeachment against President Trump. [View in browser]( [New podcast episode: Article II Inside Impeachment]( [Image]( DECEMBER 5, 2019 "Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment. I commend our committee chairs and our members for their somber approach to actions which I wish the president had not made necessary. In signing the Declaration of Independence, our founders invoked a firm reliance on divine providence. Democrats, too, are prayerful, and we will proceed in a manner worthy of our oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic, so help us God." [- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi]( [Image]( In a Thursday press conference, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi officially asked the House Judiciary Committee and chairmen of other committees to [proceed with drafting articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.]( "The president leaves us no choice but to act," Pelosi said, after stating that the facts of Trump's alleged wrongdoing involving Ukraine are are "uncontested." "The president abused his power for his own personal, political benefit at the expense of our national security by withholding military aid and crucial Oval Office meeting in exchange for an announcement of an investigation into his political rival,” Pelosi said, adding that his actions "seriously violated the Constitution." Pelosi did not say whether she had set a deadline for committees to write the articles of impeachment, when a full House vote would take place, or specify whether the articles would encompass other oversight investigations, such as the Mueller Report. Members who attended a closed-door Democratic caucus meeting on Wednesday, however, said they understood that the House would vote on articles before the holiday recess. One member said they were told to “not make plans” for Dec. 21 or 22, the weekend before Christmas. After Pelosi spoke, President Trump blasted her remarks. "The Do Nothing, Radical Left Democrats have just announced that they are going to seek to Impeach me over NOTHING. They already gave up on the ridiculous Mueller 'stuff,' so now they hang their hats on two totally appropriate (perfect) phone calls with the Ukrainian President..." he wrote on Twitter. He later added: "Nancy Pelosi just had a nervous fit. She hates that we will soon have 182 great new judges and sooo much more. Stock Market and employment records. She says she 'prays for the President.' I don’t believe her, not even close. Help the homeless in your district Nancy. USMCA?" IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: VIDEOS [Image]( [Bernie responds to Buttigieg’s recent remarks on college affordability: ‘He’s wrong’]( 2020 Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders responds to Pete Buttigieg’s criticism of universal free college. (All In) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image]( [Rep. Denny Heck: 'If we want to be better than this, it’s time to step up']( Rep. Denny Heck, who announced Wednesday that he will not run for reelection, calls out Republicans who stay silent when it comes to the president's behavior: "Whether or not we're better on this remains to be seen. If we want to be better than this, it's time to step up." (All In) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Image]( [Pelosi, Biden, rebuke criticisms in public confrontations]( The panel discusses a couple heated moments from the day, involving Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi. (MTP Daily) [Facebook]( [Twitter]( MORE VIDEOS - Why the Mueller report could play in role in the Trump impeachment ([11th Hour]() - Pete Buttigieg and the Republican lie ([Last Word]() - Biden ad says the world is laughing at Trump ([Hardball]() - Russian transgressions met with increasingly weak US response ([Rachel Maddow]() - Impeachment fact-check: Military funding did not get to Ukraine, shredding Trump defense ([The Beat]() - The new Red Scare: Favoring fear over fact ([MTP Daily]() - Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand: 'I think a deployment of 14,000 troops without coming to Congress first is a serious concern' ([Andrea Mitchell Reports]() - GOP Congressman still in Congress despite guilty plea ([All In]() - Rudy Giuliani heads back to Ukraine ([Deadline: White House)]( - New rules could end food stamp benefits for about 700,000 ([Ali Velshi]() - Trymaine Lee discusses Buttigieg's record on race: 'At what point is the learning over?' ([Stephanie Ruhle](Trymaine Lee discusses Buttigieg's record on race: )) - Trump admin. to kick nearly 700,000 off food stamps ([All In]() - How a Senate trial could force testimony from Bolton, Mulvaney, others ([Stephanie Ruhle]() QUOTE OF THE DAY [“One of the expressions I’ve heard an awful lot — in fact, I’ve heard it too much over the last couple of, three years... is, ‘We’re better than this.’ Well, you know what, Chris, I’m gonna be a little ominous. Whether or not we’re ‘better than this’ remains to be seen. It’s up to us to decide whether we’re better than this. Change does not, as Martin Luther King, Jr., suggested, roll in on the wheels of inevitability. If we want to be better than this, it is time to step up.”]( — Rep. Denny Heck, who announced this week that he will not run for reelection ([Video]() OPINION [Is Trump's impeachment rushed? Why Democrats need to ditch their current timeline]( No matter how long it takes, Democrats need to use every option possible to compel White House officials to testify and counter Trump's hypocritical complaints. By [Kurt Bardella]( [With Trump's impeachment, Republicans think nobody's done the reading. Let's prove them wrong.](No one likes homework, but it's part of our responsibilities as participants in our democracy. By [Eric Harris]( WHAT'S NEXT While Speaker Pelosi has already told the House it was time to proceed with articles of impeachment, Friday is the Judiciary committee's deadline for the White House to decide whether it will mount a defense in the impeachment process. At this point, all signs point to the White House not participating. We will continue to bring you the latest. [Watch MSNBC]( and check out the [NBC News impeachment live blog]( to stay up-to-date. This newsletter was prepared for you by Stephanie Haberman. Tell us what you think of the news and [drop us an e-mail](mailto:msnbc.digital.editors@nbcuni.com?subject=MSNBC Daily). Check out [our YouTube feature](, "The Day That Was," a review of MSNBC's primetime coverage. Were you forwarded this email from a friend? [Subscribe here](. 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