The US House intelligence committee on Tuesday voted to send its report concluding that Donald Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate his political rivals to the judiciary committee, triggering the next phase of the impeachment inquiry.
The 300-page report drew incriminating conclusions from the Democrats’ investigation into Trump, including information gathered from the past two weeks of dramatic public hearings, and laid the groundwork for several possible articles of impeachment.
What’s next?
With Tuesday night’s vote, the intelligence committee, which has led the impeachment inquiry so far, has passed the ball to the judiciary committee, which will conduct its own hearings starting Wednesday. The president and his lawyers have been invited to attend these hearings, present their case, cross-examine witnesses and request additional testimonies.
For now, the White House counsel has refused to participate – at least in the first hearing. Pat Cipollone said in a letter to the judiciary chairman, Jerry Nadler, that he could not partake “while it remains unclear whether the Judiciary Committee will afford the President a fair process through additional hearings”.
Who’s testifying next?
Four law professors – Noah Feldman, Pamela Karlan, Michael Gerhardt and Jonathan Turley – will be testifying at Wednesday’s hearings.
Norman Eisen, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, is expected to question four scholars about the legal framework for impeachment and examine whether Trump’s actions count as the “high crimes and misdemeanors” spelled out in the constitution as grounds for impeachment.
The committee is likely to hold additional hearings, though none have been scheduled yet.
Democrats expect that the committee will wrap its work within two weeks and produce articles of impeachment. Just as the intelligence committee voted on the report today, the judiciary committee will have to vote to approve articles before presenting them to Congress.
When will lawmakers vote on impeachment?
Depending on how quickly the judiciary committee is able to wrap up, Congress could debate the articles and vote on them by 20 December, before their Christmas break. If multiple articles of impeachment are brought forth against Trump, representatives may vote on each separately. The president will be impeached as long as at least one article passes with a simple majority.
Since Democrats hold a solid majority in the House, they should be able to pass the articles even if lawmakers vote strictly along party lines.
What happens if the president is impeached?
The Senate will hold a trial, presided over by the chief justice of the supreme court, John Roberts. To remove Trump from office, two-thirds of the Senate would have to vote in favor.
Although two presidents – Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton – have been impeached, no US president has ever been removed from office through impeachment.
