January 12, 2021
Speaker Heastie, Assemblymember Fahy and 75 Assembly Majority Members Send Letter to Congress Urging Them to Remove President Trump from Office
Speaker Carl Heastie and Assemblymember Patricia Fahy today were joined by 75 Assembly Majority colleagues in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging swift action on articles of impeachment and removal from office of President Donald J. Trump for incitement of insurrection and inciting violence against the United States government last Wednesday.
“The deadly, violent acts of domestic terrorism we witnessed last week at the U.S. Capitol were an assault on our democracy incited by President Trump and his allies. He must be held responsible,” Speaker Heastie said. “I stand with my Assembly Majority colleagues in urging Congress to take immediate action to impeach and remove the president from office. We must set the precedent that attempting to overturn the will of the American people cannot and will not be tolerated. Nor will threats against the New York State Capitol and the hard working New Yorkers who come to work here every day.”
“Words matter, and actions have consequences,” said Assemblymember Fahy. “The President of the United States spoke and acted to purposely undermine our democracy in one of the most shocking displays of political violence ever witnessed at the U.S. Capitol. Having spent a number of years on Capitol Hill as congressional staff, I remain deeply unsettled by last Wednesday’s violence. The sitting President must be removed from office, and prevented from holding public office ever again. I thank Speaker Heastie for his support and leadership here at the New York State Capitol and I thank each of my colleagues for their support in signing this letter, and sending a message to our delegation.”
The letter follows last Wednesday’s attempted insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, incited by President Trump. As Vice President Mike Pence seems unwilling to invoke the 25th Amendment and President Trump will not resign, the letter asserts that the only appropriate recourse left for inciting domestic terrorism is impeachment and removal from office to prevent further, irreversible damage to our republic. The letter notes the urgency of setting a precedent to prevent future occurrences.
Yesterday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned of potential armed protests at the U.S. Capitol and all 50 state capitols, including the New York State Capitol in Albany, from January 16 through January 20. The New York State Police have said that they have taken steps to strengthen security in and around the capitol out of an abundance of caution.