[[[PART – I]]]

TRUMP'S IMPEACHMENT

In a turn of events, the United States Senate cleared Donald Trump of the charges that he
was held accountable for, making him the third US president to have been acquitted. The
impeachment saga ended on February 5, 2020 with a 52-48 vote in the Senate that found
Trump not guilty of the charges that were laid against him for the abuse of his power of
office, while 53-47 votes in the Senate acquitted him on the charge of obstruction of
Congress.

President Trump was impeached on December 18, 2019 by the Democrat dominated House of
Representatives. After days of exhausting all arguments, the defense of Trump's impeachment
trial began; the third presidential impeachment in America's history. Before Donald Trump, two
US presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton went through the impeachment trial, but neither
of them was removed from the White House. President Nixon resigned to avoid impeachment
trial following the Watergate scandal.

So what are the basics of impeachment? It is when the lower chamber of the US Congress - the
House of Representatives, charges the president of wrongdoings. However, being impeached
does not entail removal from the office. The removal of a sitting president only results when the
upper chamber of the US Congress, which is the Senate, decides to convict the president after a
trial. For now, the House of Representatives consist of a Democrat majority, whereas the Senate
is controlled by the Republicans - Trumps own party. The jury of the trial consisted of complete
100 members of the Senate, where the Republicans enjoy a majority.

Under Article 1 Section 3 of the US Constitution, the "Judgment in cases of impeachment shall
not extend further than to removal from Office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any Office
of Honor, Trust or Profit under the United States." President Trump was accused with two
articles of impeachment by the House managers: the abuse of power; and obstruction of
Congress. President Trump was accused of seeking help from Ukraine's government in order to
get himself re-elected in the coming November 2020 election. Moreover, he was indicted to have
withheld military aid to Ukraine worth millions of dollars, as well as suspended a proposed
White House meeting with Ukraine's president in order to put more pressure. Witnesses of the
trial accused President Trump of framing Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, by criticizing their
business activities with a Ukrainian energy company and, furthermore, wanted the Ukrainian
government to publicly open an investigation into Joe Biden and his son.

President Trump insisted that he did nothing wrong and that the impeachment process was
nothing but a personal attack. Trump's defense team made their opening statement on January 25,
2020. The defense made its argument that the impeachment case amounts to a dispute over
“policy differences.” His team further argued that the withholding of military assistance to
Ukraine and President's request for an investigation into Joe Biden and Hunter Biden were not
linked as portrayed by the Democrats. Moreover, President Trump's defense maintained that
there was nothing wrong with the call Trump made to the Ukrainian President and the
conversation had nothing that can be interpreted or give an impression of bribery. The defense
team maintained that the document released by the White House, contained the summary of the
phone call between both the leaders and was the best 'piece of evidence' in this case. President
Trump categorized the call, he was accused of as 'perfect.' The second argument that the defense
used was the statement made by the Ukrainian President himself, where he publically stated that
he was under no pressure, and that 'nobody pushed him.' Thirdly, the Republicans argued that it
was well within the President's right to request or ask a foreign country to investigate into
corruption charges of an individual even if he or she is a political figure.

In stark contrast to President Trump's claims, the testimonies by current and former Trump
administration officials fell contrary to President Trump's claims of no wrong doing and no
misuse of power. Another blow to President Trump's defense came with the release of the report
in January 2020 by President's former National Security Advisor, John Bolton. Bolton's book
manuscript detailed the account of the request that President had made to his Ukrainian
counterpart to announce investigations into Joe and Hunter Biden. The manuscript made it clear
that there was an effort made by Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani and US officials to
pressurize Ukraine into investigating former Vice President Joe Biden. However, Trump's
defense team discredited the book and side stepped from the account.

The US Constitution requires a two-thirds majority to convict or impeach a US official or sitting

president. Once the impeachment process is finalized, the Senate enters its trial and judgment to
convict or acquit the accused. The Chief Justice, according to the US Constitution, is to preside
over the impeachment trial. However, the precedent set by the previous impeachment trials of the
two US presidents perceives the Senate as a body to outline the practice and rules. Thereof, as
the case moved into the Upper House, the proceedings and summons of the trial remained largely
to be determined by the Senate - currently dominated by the Republicans.

Acquittal of President Trump by the Senate was an expected outcome even before the defense
started its arguments as is evident from the impeachment cases of the previous US presidents.
The results of trial that had consumed Washington in a tug of war since September 2019 came as
a blow to the Democrats. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi slammed the acquittal saying "the
President and Senate Republicans have normalized lawlessness and rejected the system of checks
and balances of our constitution." However, the acquittal does not exonerate President Trump
from House investigations by the Democrats. The fear among the Democrats is that President
Trump may be emboldened in his future actions by this decision.

[[[[PART – II]]]]

*****(below is the part if u need to understand the process of impeachment in the US and for
some relevant MCQ’s )

Process in the United States

Article I of the Constitution gives the House of Representatives the "sole power of
impeachment."
Offenses that could prompt impeachment are treason, bribery or "other high crimes and
misdemeanors."
The inclusion of "other high crimes and misdemeanors" gives the legislative branch
flexibility to investigate an array of allegations.
A president is not impeached until the full House votes to approve articles of impeachment.
One article of impeachment is drafted for each alleged offense.
In the House, if a simple majority votes in favor of impeachment, the chief justice of
the Supreme Court presides over a trial in the Senate. A two-thirds majority is required to
convict and remove a president from office.
The Founding Fathers modeled the impeachment clause after a system in Britain which
gives Parliament the authority to investigate royal advisers and other higher officials.
Countries around the globe have different processes for ousting a leader, often involving
courts and/or legislative bodies.
US Impeachment Trials
Congress has conducted three presidential impeachment trials: President Andrew Johnson
in 1868, for firing a cabinet secretary without the consent of Congress, President Bill
Clinton in 1998 for perjury and obstruction of justice and President Donald Trump in 2020
for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
Johnson, Clinton and Trump were acquitted, so they stayed in office.
President Richard M. Nixon faced possible impeachment on the grounds of obstruction of
justice, abuse of power and contempt of Congress in relation to the Watergate scandal. He
resigned in 1974, before a vote was conducted in the House of Representatives.
In addition to the presidential impeachments, Congress has carried out 17 other trials for
federal officials including judges, a cabinet member and a senator.
On the state level, state legislatures have the power to impeach and remove governors.
Two notable examples are Arizona Governor Evan Mecham in 1988 and Illinois Governor
Rod Blagojevich in 2009.
President Andrew Johnson (1865-1869)
Johnson, a Democrat, took office after the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln in
1865. Amid efforts to unite the country after the Civil War, Johnson clashed with the
"Radical Republicans" who wanted to accelerate the process of Reconstruction and grant
rights to free slaves. To introduce a check on his power, Congress passed a law barring the
president from firing appointed officials, including cabinet secretaries, without Senate
approval.
February 21, 1868 - Johnson dismisses Secretary of War Edwin Stanton, who backed the
"Radical Republicans" campaign for Reconstruction.
February 24, 1868 - The House of Representatives votes 126-47 to impeach Johnson for
firing Stanton.
March 5-May 26, 1868 - Trial in the Senate. Johnson is acquitted with a vote of 35-19, one
vote shy of the two thirds majority needed to remove the president. Johnson serves out the
rest of his term (until March 4, 1869), but he doesn't run for reelection. Democrats opt to
nominate Horatio Seymour over Johnson during the prelude to the 1868 election.
1926 - The Supreme Court strikes down the Tenure of Office Act, the basis for Johnson's
impeachment.
President Bill Clinton (1993-2001)
Clinton was sued in 1994 by Paula Jones for sexual harassment. Although Clinton and
Jones eventually settled the suit rather than going to trial, the litigation sparked an
investigation into whether Clinton obstructed justice and lied under oath. The probe
centered on Clinton's relationship with a White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
The president repeatedly denied that they had had an affair but eventually said that their
relationship was inappropriate. The Clinton investigation was overseen by a special
prosecutor, Kenneth Starr, who was originally appointed to look into possible financial
crimes involving an Arkansas land deal and a development firm called Whitewater. In 1998,
after a four-year investigation, Starr produced a 445-page report detailing Clinton's
relationship with Lewinsky. The report listed acts that could be grounds for impeachment.
December 19, 1998 - Four articles of impeachment are set forth in the House of
Representatives. Two articles are approved. One, approved by a 228-206 vote, alleges that
Clinton committed perjury when he told a grand jury that he did not have an affair with
Lewinsky. The other, approved by a 221-212 vote, alleges that Clinton coerced Lewinsky to
lie under oath about their relationship. Two other articles, alleging abuse of power and
further perjury, fail to garner a simple majority.
January 7, 1999-February 12, 1999 - The trial is held, and Clinton is acquitted. For the
perjury charge, 55 senators vote not guilty and for the obstruction of justice charge, 50
senators vote to acquit the president. Clinton serves out the rest of his term.
President Donald Trump (2016-present)
September 24, 2019 - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces a formal impeachment
inquiry into Trump.
October 31, 2019 - The House approves a resolution to formalize the procedures of the
impeachment inquiry against Trump.
November 13, 2019 - The first public hearings of the inquiry take place.
December 10, 2019 - House Democratic leaders announce they will bring two articles of
impeachment against Trump, charging him with abuse of power and obstruction of
Congress.
December 13, 2019 - The House Judiciary Committee approves the two articles of
impeachment in a party line vote, setting the stage for a vote on the floor of the House.
December 18, 2019 - The House votes almost entirely along party lines to impeach
Trump. The vote for abuse of power is 230-197 and the vote for obstruction of Congress is
229-198.
January 16, 2020 - The House formally presents two articles of impeachment to the
Senate after voting to approve the seven managers who will prosecute the case.
January 16, 2020 - The Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan congressional
watchdog, says the Trump administration broke the law when it withheld US security aid to
Ukraine in 2019 that had been appropriated by Congress.
January 16, 2020 - The Senate impeachment trial officially begins. Supreme Court Chief
Justice John Roberts swears in the senators. Each present member of the chamber comes
forward and signs the oath book on the floor of the Senate.
February 5, 2020 - The Senate votes to acquit Trump. Sen. Mitt Romney is the sole
Republican to vote to convict the president on the abuse of power charge, joining with all
Senate Democrats in a 52-48 not guilty vote. Romney votes with Republicans against the
obstruction of Congress charge, which falls along straight party lines, 53-47 for acquittal.

(GOOD LUCK  )