Donald Trump has been impeached – for obstruction and abuse of power

The United Stated House of Representatives has impeached Donald Trump for soliciting foreign interference in next year’s election and stonewalling an investigation into it, making him only the third president in history to face the sanction.

The Democratic-controlled House approved two articles of impeachment Wednesday evening, charging Mr. Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Mr. Trump will now face a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, which would have to convict by a two-thirds vote to remove him from office.

The outcome of the vote was never in doubt, but the House spent all day debating it. “This is a democracy-defining moment,” Jim McGovern, a Massachusetts Democrat who chairs the House rules committee, told the chamber shortly after the day began at 9 a.m. “History will judge us by whether we keep intact that fragile republic handed down to us by our forebears over 200 years ago, or whether we will allow it to be changed forever.”

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi received an ovation from fellow Democrats as she accused Mr. Trump of jeopardizing the integrity of the country’s elections. “It is tragic that the President’s reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice,” she said. “What we are discussing today is the established fact that the President violated the Constitution.”

Republican members fired back by insisting Mr. Trump had done nothing wrong, and that the swift impeachment process — in which the President refused to participate — had not been fair to him. “When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers. During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than Democrats have afforded this President in this process,” thundered Barry Loudermilk, a Republican from Georgia.

Mr. Trump, who has a light public schedule before an evening rally in Michigan, spent much of the morning on Twitter weighing in on the proceedings. “It’s very clear the President used his power of office for a corrupt personal purpose, and it’s incredibly dangerous to our democracy,” said Betsy Karasik, a 63-year-old retired lawyer who toted a hand-painted sign emblazoned with a peach.

Even though Senate Republicans have so far shown no willingness to remove Mr. Trump from office, Ms. Karasik said impeaching him in the House would still be worth it to publicly censure his behaviour. A handful of Mr. Trump’s supporters also showed up, gathering near the protest as police kept the two groups separate.

“He’s the greatest president in the history of this country,” said Mark Kampf, 65, a retired accounting executive who traveled from Nevada to support the President. “He’s lowered taxes. He’s trying to solve the crisis at the border.” Mr. Kampf, who held a sign attacking Ms. Pelosi, argued that Mr. Trump’s demand that Ukraine investigate his Democratic rivals was an acceptable political tactic.

Inside the halls of Congress itself, a relatively subdued atmosphere reigned, with only a few tourists and legislative staff milling around outside the House chamber. Mr. Trump is accused of orchestrating a pressure campaign on Ukraine to get the country to tarnish Joe Biden, the front-runner for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, and the Democratic National Committee by announcing corruption investigations into them.

U.S. diplomats testified to Congress last month that Mr. Trump withheld nearly US$400-million in military aid to Kyiv, plus a coveted White House invitation for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, to ramp up the pressure.
A transcript of a telephone call between Mr. Trump and Mr. Zelensky in July shows Mr. Trump telling Mr. Zelensky “I would like you to do us a favour” and investigate the Democrats.

Democratic leaders long held off on impeaching Mr. Trump, even after special counsel Robert Mueller reported earlier this year that the President had tried to shut down Mr. Mueller’s investigation into Russian efforts to tip the 2016 election to Mr. Trump.

All of that changed in September following a whistle-blower report that exposed the Ukraine scandal. Since then, Congress has moved swiftly to investigate. Mr. Trump ordered government employees not to cooperate with the congressional inquiry, such as by refusing to give testimony or turn over documents.

It is unclear how a Senate trial would work next month. Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has indicated that he prefers a shorter process because his caucus will acquit Mr. Trump. Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has asked for a longer trial that would include calling senior Trump administration officials, such as White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, as witnesses.

Both previous presidents to be impeached, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, remained in office after the Senate failed to convict them. Richard Nixon, meanwhile, resigned before the House could vote on articles of impeachment.