Donald Trump impeachment: House leaders prepare to vote on Senate trial ahead of Christmas break

President Donald Trump faces an impeachment trial in the Senate
REUTERS
Rebecca Speare-Cole16 December 2019

Leaders from the US House of Representative are preparing for the final impeachment vote against Donald Trump ahead of their Christmas break.

The House will vote on impeachment charges this week. If approved, the president will face a 2020 trial in the Senate.

It comes after the House Judiciary Committee voted for two articles of impeachment against Mr Trump on Friday after spending three months investigating his dealings in Ukraine.

The charges include abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, accusing the president of asking Ukraine to investigate his political rival Joe Biden and withholding military as leverage.

The roll call vote recorded by the clerk after the House Judiciary Committee approved the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump
AP

It followed a bitter two-day debate in which Democrats said it was their duty to impeach while Republicans defended Mr Trump.

The House vote on the two articles could come as soon as Wednesday with a meeting to set debate rules already scheduled for Tuesday.

Donald Trump arrives in London

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No Republicans have so far signalled that they will support the articles of impeachment, but a small handful of Democrats have said they may join Republicans in voting against them.

Mr Trump has expressed interest in a robust Senate trial that would not only clear him of the charges but also vindicate him.

He has lashed out repeatedly against impeachment, tweeting on Sunday: "The Impeachment Hoax is just a continuation of the Witch Hunt which has been going on for 3 years. We will win!"

He also has said he believes impeachment could be a political winner, citing re-election campaign data that shows his fundraising, rally attendance and poll numbers in battleground states have all increased since the inquiry began.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is set to name those who could argue the Democrats' case in the yet-approved Senate trial.

Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler are frontrunners for two of the impeachment manager positions, acting as prosecutors where senators act like jurors.

The chief justice of the United States presides over the trial.

Jerrold Nadler and Adam Schiff are frontrunners for the impeachment manager roles.
AP

If the Senate approves an article of impeachment with a two-thirds vote of "guilty," the president is convicted and removed from office.

If both articles are rejected as expected, the president is acquitted.

On Sunday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed that four witnesses be called, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney and former national security adviser John Bolton.

Mr Schumer also proposed that the trial begin the week of January 6 to allow for as many as 126 hours of statements, testimony, questions and deliberations, suggesting a trial that could run three weeks or more.

"This trial must be one that is fair, that considers all of the relevant facts, and that exercises the Senate's `sole Power of Impeachment' under the Constitution with integrity and dignity," Mr Schumer wrote in a letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

"The trial must be one that not only hears all of the evidence and adjudicates the case fairly; it must also pass the fairness test with the American people."

This is the fourth time in history Congress has moved to impeach a president.

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