Trump officially 'enters history' as the 4th US president to be impeached

“No choice”

Democrats in the US House of Representatives showed their eagerness to quickly introduce formal articles of impeachment against their President Donald Trump on December 5, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asserting that Trump “leaves us no choice” but to act quickly because he will likely once again wreck the system unless he is removed from power before next year’s election.

Legal experts attend the impeachment hearing of President Trump at the US House Judiciary Committee on December 4. Photo: AP

The highly partisan move at the time was immediately criticized by Mr. Trump and other Republican leaders, who called it a hoax and a hoax.

According to AP, this is indeed a politically risky move. While Democrats insist they are doing the right thing after the investigation related to Ukraine, Republicans claim this will cause Ms. Pelosi to lose her majority in the workplace.

“The president’s actions have seriously violated the Constitution,” Pelosi said in a speech on Capitol Hill. “He is attempting once again to subvert the election for his own personal gain. The president has engaged in an abuse of power, undermining our national security, and undermining the integrity of our elections.”

For his part, Mr. Trump insisted that he did nothing wrong. On Twitter, the White House boss responded that the Democrats “have gone crazy.” He even showed his readiness to fight, posting that if the Democrats “are going to impeach me, then do it now, fast.”

While he previously fought the House investigation, trying to block current and former officials from testifying, he now insists he wants a “fair trial” in the Senate.

The drafting of the articles of impeachment marks a watershed moment. It is the fourth time in US history that Congress has sought to remove a president from office, and the move has strained the rigid and polarized partisanship of the Trump era, which has left Washington exhausted and the country divided.

Battle of the Giants

An analysis on CNN argues that at the heart of the impeachment mess in the US is a battle between two “giants”, each of whom has carved their name into the history of the land of the stars and stripes.

Standing at one end of Pennsylvania Avenue is the highest-ranking woman in American political history: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her role as guardian of the country's Constitution.

And on the other side is the most powerful man in the world: President Donald Trump, whose actions have been so damaging to America's political system that critics say he should be removed from office.

The 300-page Trump impeachment investigation report was released a few days ago. Photo: Reuters

Pelosi is an institutionalist. The first female Speaker of the House of Representatives is a master of traditional constitutional politics. She wins elections, builds coalitions, counts votes, passes bills and checks Republican presidents.

The daughter of a Baltimore mayor, she served a long time in Congress, and is the kind of Washington establishment that Trump supporters despise.

Meanwhile, Mr. Trump, the man accused of undermining America's fundamental constitutional principles, is assessed by CNN as having never seen any institution that he "likes" and does not want to destroy.

America's current leader entered politics late, often showing impatience in governing, ignoring convention and practice and more interested in what one senior aide once called “the disintegration of the administrative state.”

According to some experts, it is possible that the impeachment articles will receive a nod in the House of Representatives, because in this body the Democrats hold the majority.

But a conviction in the subsequent trial in the Republican-controlled Senate is highly unlikely. Yet their battle reflects the reality that what is unfolding on Capitol Hill will be about more than allegations of Trump’s abuse of power in Ukraine. It will also be about shaping the future of American governance itself.