Impeachment Inquiry Against Donald Trump
After a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have abused the power of the presidency, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi initiated on September 24, 2019, the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.
The Trump–Ukraine whistleblower complaint, August 12, 2019
The Cause of Impeachment. The allegations
Key Points
- Bribery. Trump is accused of withholding military aid as a means of pressuring newly elected president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to pursue investigations of his main domestic political rival Joe Biden and his son hunter.
- Abuse of power. Trump is accused of withholding military aid as a means of pressuring Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate a conspiracy theory that Ukraine, not Russia, was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election.
- Obstruction. Trump is accused of obstructing the inquiries into his alleged abuse of power and bribery by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony.
Newsreals Impeachment Inquiry Against Donald Trump
The severity of the allegations brought forth by the whistleblower against president Trump – bribery, abuse of power and obstruction – were ground for house speaker Nancy Pelosi to officially investigate the truthfulness of the allegations in the Impeachment Inquiries. On October 29, 2019, after five weeks of preparation and with the consent of Congress (232 against 196) open hearings were started, including the above highlights of the staff-led questioning of witnesses, and the public release of deposition transcripts.
Q & A Impeachment
In the U.S., impeachment is a political process that is started by Congress to charge the President with grave abuse of office, including bribery, treason, abuse of power and other crimes and misdemeanors. The process begins with the impeachment inquiries that investigate the truthfulness and weight of the charges. Once the charges have been fully assessed and investigated, the House of Representatives (lower house of Congress) must pass by simple majority vote the articles of impeachment. Upon passage, the defendant has been impeached.
Then the impeachment process unfolds in a trial in the Senate (the higher house of Congress). This is called the impeachment trial with each side having the right to call witnesses and perform cross-examinations. The lower house of Congress presents the prosecution case, and the impeached President has the right to mount a defense with his or her own attorneys as well. In the end, after hearing all the charges, witnesses, and cross-examinations, the Senate deliberates in private and passes judgment either to convict or acquit.
Donald Trump is impeached because a formal House inquiry (Impeachment Inquiry), summarized in the five newsreels above, found that he had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election to help his re-election bid. The House’s verdict to impeach was further motivated by the fact that Trump obstructed the inquiry itself by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony.
The Impeachment inquiry has found the allegations of bribery, abuse of power, and obstruction against President Trump to be truthful and grave. Therefore the House voted for impeachment and is proceeding with the impeachment trials in the Senate. These trials allow President Trump to mount his own defense and to cross-examine witnesses. After the impeachment trials, the Senate will pass judgment either to convict or acquit
After the Impeachment trials, if the Senate passes judgment to convict, then President Donald Trump is removed from office, and the Vice-President will replace him for the remainder of the term.
