US House of Representatives will vote Wednesday to send the two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate for a trial to determine if he should be removed from office.
“We will be presenting them on the floor tomorrow,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after a meeting with her party caucus Tuesday morning.
In a statement, she added, referring to her battle with the Senate’s Republican leadership over hearing new evidence from new witnesses. “The American people will fully understand the Senate’s move to begin the trial without witnesses and documents as a pure political cover-up.”
Republicans have refused to commit to testifying new witnesses drawing allegations of a “cover-up” and fear of more damaging evidence coming to light.
Democrats are also expected to name between now and the Wednesday vote impeachment “managers”, member of the House of Representatives who will argue the lower chamber’s case to dismiss the president from office. The president will be represented by his lawyers. The final outcome will be determined by a floor vote by the 100 members of the upper chamber which is controlled by Republicans by a 53-47 majority. The trial will be presided over by Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts, and not the usual presider, the vice-president, who will also not be able to cast a deciding vote in case of a tie.
The two articles of impeachment charge the president with abusing the power of his office to force Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and then obstructing congress’s investigation into it. The Democratic-led House had impeached Trump on December 18.
{{/usCountry}}The two articles of impeachment charge the president with abusing the power of his office to force Ukraine to investigate his political rivals and then obstructing congress’s investigation into it. The Democratic-led House had impeached Trump on December 18.
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