Donald Trump is set to become the third president in American history to be impeached on Wednesday when the House of Representatives gathers to vote on whether he abused the power of his office by attempting to extort a political favour from Ukraine and then obstructed the subsequent congressional investigation into his conduct.
Defiant as ever, Mr Trump insists he has done nothing wrong and that the process is a partisan “witch hunt” against him, writing a six-page letter to House speaker Nancy Pelosi accusing House Democrats of “declaring open war on American democracy”.
Washington Post columnist David Ignatius described the letter as “the most unpresidential presidential document ever written” on MSNBC’s Morning Joe after rallies backing the impeachment process were held in cities across the country on Tuesday evening.
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Following Ms Pelosi is Republican Doug Collins, who is — notably — not the highest ranking Republican in the House.
Mr Collins, true to form, is delivering an impassioned speech defending the president.
Ms Pelosi's speech has resulted in a round of applause from the Democratic side of the chamber.
In case you're wondering about the timeline of this, as Ms Pelosi continues her speech, we're expecting around six hours of debate before the ultimate impeachment vote.
Ms Pelosi's recitation of the pledge of allegiance was technically the first words spoken during the impeachment debate that will likely lead to the third impeachment of a US president in history.
Ms Pelosi's recitation of the pledge of allegiance was technically the first words spoken during the impeachment debate that will likely lead to the third impeachment of a US president in history.
House speaker Nancy Pelosi is now speaking on the House floor, and reciting the pledge of allegiance for show.
Show has a big poster with a waving American flag and the words "To the Republic for which it stands..." written underneath.
Show has a big poster with a waving American flag and the words "To the Republic for which it stands..." written underneath.
Republican senator Susan Collins has announced, right dab in the middle of impeachment debates, that she is running for re-election.
Ms Collins is a centrist from Maine, and is considered one of few Republicans who could potentially vote in favour of removing Mr Trump once impeachment makes its way to the Senate.
While that still seems a bit unlikely, she is likely to be a key target for Democrats as she looks for a fifth term.
House Democrats have approved a motion to end debate on the "rule" outlining procedures for impeachment today.
But, two House Democrats have joined Republicans to vote against the procedural vote, signaling a potential schism among Democrats (though one that is unlikely to play a major role).
Those two are Collin Peterson of Minnesota, and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey. Mr Van Drew has threatened to leave the Democratic primary amid the impeachment effort.
Movie stars and celebrities are often associated with Democrats and liberals, and some of them are sure celebrating today.
The group of very happy celebrities includes longtime Trump foe Rosie O'Donnell, 'Star Trek star' George Takei, and 'Hamilton' star Lin-Manuel Miranda.
A quick update on what is happening on the House floor: Members are voting on whether to end debate on impeachment rules.
There is some good news for Donald Trump today, even if impeachment is barreling down on him
A new poll from Gallup has found that his approval rating has actually inched upwards recently, while the American public has shown a dipping interest in impeaching him.
His approval rating sits at 45 per cent, according to that poll — which is up a few points from his usual rate. Support for impeachment has dropped into the red, however, with 46 per cent saying they support censure compared to 51 per cent who do not believe he should be impeached.
We can dig into the numbers a bit more, though, and still see some silver linings for Democrats. While the changes in approval and support for impeachment are relatively minor (we've seen this kind of fluctuation for a while), the percentage of Democrats who approve of what Congress is doing jumping.
Thirty-nine per cent of Democrats approve of the work Congress is doing, marking the highest we've seen since early in the Obama administration. Meanwhile, just 12 per cent of Republicans approve of the work Congress is doing (down from 50 per cent in early 2017).
The president isn't the only Trump under investigation by the US government, it appears.
Donald Trump Jr is facing his own investigation form the US Fish and Wildlife Service, for allegedly illegally killing a rare sheep during a recent trip of his to Mongolia. He apparently imported parts of the animal back to the US, leading to some jurisdiction here in the states.
The killing has been derided by animal activists, and accusations that he has violated a federal wildlife anti-trafficking law.
In addition to the rallies last night, more impeachment protests are expected tomorrow night as well. One in Washington has the following description:
"We are now days away from impeaching Donald Trump and forcing a trial on his removal from office. A grassroots movement by and for the people is what brought us to this point - and we are preparing for the final fight to remove Trump in 2020.
"Can you join us in DC on Thursday, December 19th for a nonviolent action to demand a democracy that serves us and our interests, not the corrupt, wealthy and powerful few like Trump? Our Senators will not go home to celebrate the new year without being forced to choose between the American people or the chaos, violence, and criminality of Trump."
"Can you join us in DC on Thursday, December 19th for a nonviolent action to demand a democracy that serves us and our interests, not the corrupt, wealthy and powerful few like Trump? Our Senators will not go home to celebrate the new year without being forced to choose between the American people or the chaos, violence, and criminality of Trump."
One thing of note here is that, while there was a ton of protesting early on in the Trump administration, much of the attention has diverted from those efforts — including surrounding impeachment. Lately, climate change protests have been more noticeable. But, a renewed effort could put some pressure on the Senate when it takes up the issue next year.
In case you missed this, protesters took to the streets in the thousands last night to rally behind Trump's impeachment.
Here's some video from New York City's Times Square, though we've heard reports of numerous rallies across the country — my mother, who lives in the small town of Yuma, Arizona, said she even saw one there (if you're unfamiliar, this part of Arizona is pretty conservative).
Here is a quote Mr Trump has shared, though we are not certain about its veracity.
As mentioned, it's not clear where exactly this quote came from, or if it is accurate. Mr Starr was a guest on Tucker Carlson's show last night, which Mr Trump has tweeted about earlier today.
Mr Starr did say during that interview that the founding fathers of the US were concerned about an impeachment vote along party lines.
The House is now voting on whether to adopt rules for debate on articles of impeachment.
Donald Trump is now retweeting a pro-Trump commentator named Gregg Jarrett, who has spread concerns about the American "deep state" working against the president's interests.
Among the claims is that the real collusion was between Democrats and the FBI — although there is no evidence of that.
Who is this guy, you ask? Roman Catholic priest and pro-life activist Frank Pavone.
Pavone was a member of Trump's 33-member Catholic advisory council in 2016 — and later attracted some less than great attention for a 45-minute video in which he preached the sins of abortion while posing alongside an unclothed aborted fetus.
Pavone was a member of Trump's 33-member Catholic advisory council in 2016 — and later attracted some less than great attention for a 45-minute video in which he preached the sins of abortion while posing alongside an unclothed aborted fetus.
Some more retweet action from the president:
In some very off the radar news, at least when considering the big ticket items like the federal budget and impeachment:
Puerto Rico to defy federal Trump ban on cockfighting
US president signed federal law making it illegal for birds to fight in 2018Ok, in all seriousness, let's get down to the real important stuff —namely, how many times will Donald Trump tweet today?
He's really been amping things up lately, with the impeachment efforts tightening up around him. On a recent, crisp December day, he broke his record with over 100 tweets and retweets in a day. Here's *that* story:
