Trump Becomes the Third President to be Impeached

Donald Trump has become the third US president in history to be impeached by the House of Representatives. Being impeached places Donald Trump alongside only two other presidents in the nation's history - Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton.

After 10 hours of partisan discussions on the evidence of the two impeachment charges against Trump, the House called for votes at about 20:30 local time.

The first charge is about the abuse of power, regarding Mr. Trump's assumed effort to pressure Ukraine to declare investigations into his Democratic political opponent, Joe Biden.

It passed by 230 votes to 197, almost completely on party lines. Only two Democrats opposed the Articles. 

The second charge is concerning ‘obstruction of Congress,’ because the president supposedly declined to co-operate with the impeachment investigation, concealing and withholding documentary evidence and prohibiting his key aides from giving out evidence.

The House Speaker Ms. Pelosi opened the debate by saying: "For centuries Americans have fought and died to defend democracy for the people, but very sadly now our founder's vision of a republic is under threat from actions from the White House. If we do not act now, we would be derelict in our duty. It is tragic that the president's reckless actions make impeachment necessary. He gave us no choice."

The next step for Washington is setting up a trial in the Senate, which will decide whether Trump will remain in office or not. (Or even be convicted)

President Trump's Republicans control the Senate, so it is highly unlikely he will be removed from power.

By Beka Alexishvili