'Congress Must Fulfill Its Constitutional Duty': 500,000+ Back Trump Impeachment Push

More than half a million Americans have backed a campaign demanding that the U.S. Congress impeach President Donald Trump for grave abuses of power, including the kidnapping and unlawful removal of residents, brazen profiteering, and defiance of judicial orders.

The progressive advocacy organization Free Speech for People announced Thursday that more than 500,000 people have signed its petition imploring lawmakers to impeach Trump for a historic third time, a demand that recent survey data shows is backed by a majority of U.S. voters.

The number of petition signatures has doubled over the past two months as anger has grown nationwide over the Trump administration's authoritarianism and corruption.

"Backed by hundreds of thousands of Americans demanding impeachment, Congress must fulfill its constitutional duty and impeach and remove Trump for his multiple high crimes," Alexandra Flores-Quilty, Free Speech for People's campaign director, said in a statement Thursday.

Free Speech for People's update on its petition drive came as the group unveiled a formal impeachment resolution that contains 16 articles against Trump, who was impeached twice during his first term but never convicted by the U.S. Senate.

The articles accuse the president of "abusing the pardon power through the broad pardon of January 6 co-insurrectionists," "improperly using emergency and wartime powers to mobilize U.S. armed forces against migrants," "receiving foreign and domestic emoluments," "unlawfully imposing tariffs," "co-opting and dismantling federal agencies for corrupt purposes," and "planning the forced removal of Palestinians from Gaza."

The group released its resolution just days after U.S. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) filed seven articles of impeachment against Trump, arguing that the president's "unlawful actions have subverted the justice system, violated the separation of powers, and placed personal power and self-interest above public service."

"We cannot wait for more damage to be done," Thanedar said last week. "Congress must act."

U.S. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) is also expected to file articles of impeachment against the president in the coming days.

Such impeachment resolutions stand no realistic chance of passing the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, but supporters of the campaign to remove the president say it could help galvanize opposition to Trump and his billionaire cronies.

Critics of the push, including some Democratic lawmakers who acknowledge Trump has committed impeachable offenses, have publicly and privately expressed concern that the effort could be detrimental to efforts to check the lawless president.

By Free Speech for People's count, at least 16 members of Congress have so far expressed support for impeaching Trump a third time.

"Members of Congress on record in support of impeachment include Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Sam Liccardo (CA-16), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Shri Thanedar (MI-13), Ilhan Omar (MN-05), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Maxine Dexter (OR-03), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Al Green (TX-09), Lloyd Doggett (TX-37), Becca Balint (VT-AL), and Kevin Mullin (CA-15)," the group noted Thursday. "Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia has also made a public statement in support of impeachment."