Donald Trump on brink of impeachment as House panel votes to approve charges
- President says impeachment would be good for him politically, saying he would not mind long or short trial
- If impeached, Trump will go on trial in Senate early next year, just as 2020 presidential campaign begins to pick up speed
A Democratic-controlled House of Representatives committee on Friday took US President Donald Trump to the brink of impeachment when it approved two charges against him stemming from his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden.
A deeply divided House Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 to approve articles of impeachment charging Trump with both abusing the power of his office over Ukraine and obstructing House Democrats’ attempts to investigate him for it.
If the full House votes next week to impeach Trump, as expected, the Republican will become the third US president to be impeached. But the chances of him being removed from office are close to zero because the Senate, which is dominated by Republicans, will have the final say.
Asked for his reaction to the House committee vote, Trump repeated his criticism of the Democrats’ impeachment effort: “It’s a witch hunt, it’s a sham, it’s a hoax.”
The president, speaking to reporters while meeting with Paraguay President Mario Abdo Benitez, accused Democrats of “trivialising impeachment”.