House Democrats were today set to unveil two articles of impeachment that charge President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
The expected announcement on Capitol Hill this afternoon is a major step forward in the bid by opposition leaders to unseat Mr Trump over his dealings with Ukraine.
The House Judiciary Committee begins debating the charges on Thursday and a vote in the full Democrat-controlled House of Representatives is likely before Christmas.
Mr Trump’s fate is expected to be decided at a trial early next year in the Republican-led US Senate.
According to the Washington Post, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and top Democrats were finalising the plans last night after zeroing in on two counts against the President: abusing his position to try to force Ukraine into launching an investigation into political rival Joe Biden by withholding nearly $400 million in military aid, and stonewalling congressional inquiries by ordering officials not to testify and refusing to provide documents.
“This is not a happy day. I don’t get any glee at this,” said Congressman Eliot Engel, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.
“But I think we’re doing what we have to do. We’re doing what the constitution mandates that we do. A lot of us believe that what happened with Ukraine especially is not something we can just close our eyes to.”
Mr Trump has insisted there was nothing wrong with his July 25 call to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he was said to have demanded a quid pro quo. Mr Trump was said to have frozen the aid because he was worried about corruption in Ukraine.
