The U.S. House of Representatives on
Tuesday Sep 24,2019 launched an official impeachment investigation of President
Donald Trump after he encouraged a foreign leader to conduct a probe
that could damage a political rival.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, announced the investigation at a news conference, declaring "no one is above the law."
There has been a groundswell of support among Democratic Party lawmakers for the move following Trump's public admission that he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the son of presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that the July 25 phone call was "very friendly and totally appropriate" and that he put "no pressure" on Zelenskiy. He later called the House probe "Witch Hunt Garbage" in a tweet
A rough transcript of the call shows that the US president pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former Vice-President Biden and his son, who was a board member for a company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.
The call came after the Trump administration had delayed releasing US military funds to Ukraine until mid-September.
Mr Trump also referenced the 2016 hacking of the Democratic email server in the call to Mr Zelensky, and seemed to imply that the server still exists somewhere in Ukraine.
Why Impeachment?
There has been a groundswell of support among Democratic Party lawmakers for the move following Trump's public admission that he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate the son of presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden.
Trump wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that the July 25 phone call was "very friendly and totally appropriate" and that he put "no pressure" on Zelenskiy. He later called the House probe "Witch Hunt Garbage" in a tweet
Where does this row stem from?
Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had a phone conversation on 25 July this year.A rough transcript of the call shows that the US president pressed his Ukrainian counterpart to investigate former Vice-President Biden and his son, who was a board member for a company owned by a Ukrainian oligarch.
The call came after the Trump administration had delayed releasing US military funds to Ukraine until mid-September.
Mr Trump also referenced the 2016 hacking of the Democratic email server in the call to Mr Zelensky, and seemed to imply that the server still exists somewhere in Ukraine.
Why Impeachment?
Under the Constitution, the president can be removed from office for "treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanours."
What exactly that means is unclear. Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses of the public's trust.
A president does not need to have violated a specific criminal law to have committed an impeachable offence.
Impeachment Process
What exactly that means is unclear. Historically, it can encompass corruption and other abuses of the public's trust.
A president does not need to have violated a specific criminal law to have committed an impeachable offence.
Impeachment Process
If a simple majority of the House's 435
members approves bringing charges, known as "articles of impeachment,"
the process moves to the Senate, the upper chamber, which holds a trial
to determine the president's guilt.
In such a trial, House members act as the prosecutors, the senators as jurors; the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president.
Lawmakers are not required to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt — the evidentiary standard in a criminal case.
Party Position of the Democrats and Republicans in the Congress
The House has 235 Democrats, 199 Republicans, and one independent. As a result, the Democrats could impeach Trump with no Republican support.
In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Two and a half months passed between the House voting to move forward with impeachment proceedings against Clinton and his impeachment.
The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with the Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would require 67 votes.
So, for Trump to be removed from office via impeachment, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.
The Republican majority in the Senate could vote to immediately dismiss the charges against Trump without considering evidence
Previous Impeachment
In such a trial, House members act as the prosecutors, the senators as jurors; the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court presides. A two-thirds majority vote is required in the 100-member Senate to convict and remove a president.
Lawmakers are not required to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt — the evidentiary standard in a criminal case.
Party Position of the Democrats and Republicans in the Congress
The House has 235 Democrats, 199 Republicans, and one independent. As a result, the Democrats could impeach Trump with no Republican support.
In 1998, when Republicans had a House majority, the chamber voted largely along party lines to impeach President Bill Clinton, a Democrat. Two and a half months passed between the House voting to move forward with impeachment proceedings against Clinton and his impeachment.
The Senate now has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats and two independents who usually vote with the Democrats. Conviction and removal of a president would require 67 votes.
So, for Trump to be removed from office via impeachment, at least 20 Republicans and all the Democrats and independents would have to vote against him.
The Republican majority in the Senate could vote to immediately dismiss the charges against Trump without considering evidence
Previous Impeachment
- No president has ever been removed as a direct result of impeachment.
- One, President Richard Nixon, resigned in 1974 before he could be impeached.
- Only two U.S. presidents have ever been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868 in the tumultuous aftermath of the American Civil War; and Bill Clinton in 1998 over issues including his relationship with a White House intern named Monica Lewinsky. Both times, the House approved formal charges, only to have the Senate fail to convict and remove.
No comments:
Post a Comment