Impeachment of the President: The US House of Representatives has 'nodded'

Historic vote

According to AFP news agency, US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democrat in Washington, announced on Thursday: “Today the House took the next step as we set up procedures to hold hearings… so the public can see for themselves the truth. What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy.”

US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is carefully but methodically conducting the impeachment inquiry into Mr Trump. Photo: AFP

The House of Representatives voted 232-196 on October 31 to pass a resolution outlining the next steps in the impeachment process. As expected, all Republicans opposed the measure, while Democrats are looking to see if Trump abused his power by pressuring a foreign government to investigate a domestic political rival.

In addition, as many might expect, the leader of the United States himself has repeatedly asserted that this investigation is illegal and politically motivated. In fact, Mr. Trump immediately expressed his reaction to the vote, tweeting on social network Twitter, referring to this move: “The greatest witch hunt in American history!”

Also according to AFP, the White House accused opposition Democrats of being “fundamentally un-American” when showing “a mental obsession with this illegal impeachment process”.

US House of Representatives members vote to approve a resolution to proceed with impeachment proceedings against President Trump, October 31, 2019. Photo: AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

“Democrats are choosing to waste every day of their lives on a sham impeachment — a blatant partisan plot to destroy the President,” Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement after the vote. Trump meanwhile urged fellow Republicans to stand by him, even as he faces the possibility of becoming only the third president in history to be impeached and removed from office in the Senate over an alleged scheme to pressure Ukraine to help him win reelection in 2020.

The White House boss quoted Fox News anchor Laura Ingraham's Twitter status, calling for Republicans to rally, "stand together and defend their party leader against these stains."

“False Excuses”

According to sources, Mr. Trump is accused of intentionally withholding military aid to force Ukraine to launch a corruption investigation into his Democratic election rival, Joe Biden. This, if true, would be interpreted as an illegal use of U.S. foreign policy for personal political gain.

President Trump called on the Republican Party to support him amid growing support for his impeachment investigation. Photo: AFP

Mr Trump and his fellow Republicans have dismissed the story as a “sham”, but congressional investigators have gathered evidence from administration officials who have testified behind closed doors on Capitol Hill.

Interestingly, the resolution did not have 100% Democratic support. Two Democrats sided with Republicans in opposing the measure. Justin Amash, a former Republican but now an independent, sponsored it, warning his former home: “Excusing his wrongdoing will forever tarnish your reputation,” he tweeted, referring to Trump. “History will not be kind to this man’s dishonest, frivolous, and false excuses.”

But in any case, with the recent vote, the investigation in the United States is now firmly in the public eye. In other words, Americans have been given the opportunity to watch the evidence against President Trump on live television. According to AFP, the House Intelligence Committee, the body that has led the investigation so far, will hold open hearings, present officials and documentary evidence, and allow Republicans to appeal. Members of this party have argued that the vote invalidates a legitimate, key point of their view, that the investigation is invalid because the entire Senate does not support it.

Republican lawmakers strongly oppose the move to impeach Mr. Trump. Photo AFP

If the case against Trump is deemed strong enough, the House Judiciary Committee will introduce formal charges against the president, known as articles of impeachment, for a vote by the full House. It is unclear how quickly that process will happen. Some believe the Democratic-led House could impeach Trump by the end of the year. If so, the Oval Office occupant would then be tried in the Republican-controlled Senate. Several 2020 presidential candidates have praised the move, including Biden, who said: “Congress must do its duty to ensure that Donald Trump’s assault on the Constitution does not extend beyond his term in office.”

Witnesses support the accusation

About a dozen witnesses have so far testified in the Senate about allegations that, in coordination with senior aides and his personal lawyer, Mr. Trump pressured Ukraine to help him re-elect in 2020, by deposing Mr. Biden, the former US Vice President.

The charges center on a July 25 phone call in which Mr Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open investigations into Mr Biden and his son, who had worked with a Ukrainian energy company.

Former White House National Security Council director for Russia and Europe Tim Morrison arrives to testify in the investigation. Photo: AFP

In potentially powerful testimony on October 31, Tim Morrison, the top Russia expert on the White House National Security Council, confirmed that a diplomat close to Trump had told him that military aid would be withheld until Kiev committed to investigating Biden. The revelation “resonates” with testimony last week from Bill Taylor, the top US envoy to Ukraine, who expressed concern that Morrison had informed him of a “quid pro quo” with Ukraine.

Morrison, who resigned on October 30, said: “I can confirm that the substance of his statement, as it relates to my conversation with him, is accurate.” Investigators have also subpoenaed Trump’s former national security adviser, John Bolton, for testimony. In short, at this point, although the White House has criticized the recently passed resolution as “unconstitutional,” Trump is unlikely to reverse the current situation, and that means the leader is about to experience some really difficult days, especially in the context of his re-election race being very close.