Donald Trump calls impeachment accusations 'atrocious lies' as House vote looms

Show Caption Hide Caption Presidential impeachment: Clinton, Johnson, Nixon test U.S. democracy Presidents have been impeached, but none have been removed from office due to impeachment. Confusing? Here's how.

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump railed against Democrats Wednesday as members of the House debated whether to impeach him, calling the looming historic vote "an assault on America."

The president steadily tweeted and re-tweeted at least two dozen times by 1 p.m., decrying the impeachment drive as "atrocious lies by the radical left."

"SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!," he tweeted.

Keep up with the news: Stay updated with USA TODAY's impeachment coverage

Wednesday's tweets came as members of the House debated two articles of impeachment against Trump, accusing him of abuse of power for pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rival and obstructing the Congressional impeachment inquiry into his conduct by directing administration officials and agencies not to cooperate with the inquiry.

In an earlier tweet, Trump said there was nothing wrong with his phone call with the Ukraine president. He also denied withholding aid from Ukraine until it met his demands.

“In the end here, nothing happened,” Trump said in one tweet. “We don’t approach anything like the egregious conduct that should be necessary before a President should be removed from office.”

If the House approves the articles, the president would become the third president to be impeached. He would then face a trial in the Republican-led Senate, where he is expected to be acquitted.

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"Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!" Trump said in one post, later adding: "This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!"

Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2019

The president also attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., who earlier opened the debate floor invoking the nation's founders and telling members of the House that Trump "gave us no choice.”

"Will go down as worst Speaker. Already thrown out once!" Trump tweeted.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said earlier Wednesday the president would be "working all day," but may catch "some of the proceedings between meetings."

The House is expected to vote on the articles Wednesday evening, the same time Trump will take the stage at a campaign rally in Battle Creek, Michigan, a state he won by less than 11,000 votes in 2016.

National security lawyer Bradley P. Moss weighed in on Twitter: "The president clearly is calm and composed right now in watching this unfold on the floor of the House."

“We all yell in all caps on Twitter when we're calm," he quipped.

Critics described Trump’s tweet storm as consciousness of guilt.

“If Trump wasn't guilty, he'd choose to testify under oath not tweet out of stress,” said Democratic strategist Jesse Ferguson.