Donald Trump: Democrats launch second attempt to impeach outgoing President for ‘incitement of insurrection’

Donald Trump could become the only US President in history to be impeached for a second time, after a fresh article of impeachment was introduced to the United States Congress on Monday.

The article, drawn up by Democrats in the House of Representatives, alleges Mr Trump’s “incitement of insurrection” warrant his immediate removal from office - despite the fact that his term will officially end on January 20.

It comes after Democratic Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, labelled Mr Trump “deranged, unhinged, and dangerous”, and blamed him for the violence which erupted in Washington D.C. last week.

Five people were killed, including one police officer, during extraordinary scenes at the US Capitol building on Wednesday, when an armed mob of pro-Trump supporters broke through security barriers and plunged a joint session of Congress into chaos.

Earlier that day, President Trump had addressed the crowd outside the White House and repeated baseless claims that the November 2020 election was “stolen” from him by means of voter fraud.

Democrats, who hold a majority in the House of Representatives, introduced the resolution to impeach Mr Trump for his role in the violence during a brief pro forma session of Congress.

The article points to several false claims he has made, including that he is the rightful winner of the election.

In reality, President Elect Joe Biden won over seven million more votes than Mr Trump.

Donald Trump could become the only US President in history to be impeached for a second time, after a fresh article of impeachment was introduced to the United States Congress on Monday. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images)

The impeachment article forms part of a two-pronged attempt by Democrats to remove the President, along with a resolution calling for the Vice President Mike Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to the US Constitution.

The Amendment allows Mr Pence and the rest of the White House cabinet to vote to remove Mr Trump if they believe he is no longer fit for office.

But that resolution was blocked by West Virginia Republican Alex Mooney - forcing Congress to debate and possibly vote on the issue on Tuesday instead.

Explaining his action, Mr Mooney said the House: "must never adopt a resolution that demands the removal of a duly elected president, without any hearings, debate or recorded votes.”

Five people were killed, including one police officer, during extraordinary scenes at the US Capitol building on Wednesday, when an armed mob of pro-Trump supporters broke through security barriers and plunged a joint session of Congress into chaos. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

Speaker Pelosi accused Mr Mooney and his party of “complicity”, claiming they had enabled “the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue.

“Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end.”

She vowed to move on with the 25th Amendment debate on Tuesday, pushing for the Vice President to oust his boss “within 24 hours”.

Lawmakers are said to be fearful that the outgoing President could stoke more violence during Mr Biden’s inauguration later this month.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said: “The House Republicans rejected this legislation to protect America, enabling the President’s unhinged, unstable and deranged acts of sedition to continue. Their complicity endangers America, erodes our Democracy, and it must end.” (Photo by Amanda Voisard - Pool/Getty Images)

According to US news outlets, an FBI memo, reportedly issued a week before last week's unrest, identified credible threats to the US Capitol and all 50 state capitols, planned between January 16 and Inauguration Day on January 20.

If Mr Pence does not act to remove Trump, the House will launch a debate on the article of impeachment on Wednesday.

Sponsors of the impeachment bill are confident that they already have enough votes for the resolution to pass the House on Wednesday.

If Mr Trump is indeed impeached for a second time, the Senate is likely to hold a trial in the coming months to decide whether or not to convict him of the political charge.

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