Impeachment is the process that occurs when Congress believes that the president of the United States should be removed from office due to supporting actions. The Constitution sets up the way to remove a president from office, specifically focusing on their “high crimes and misdemeanors”. Congress determines if an action done is worth impeaching, violating the oath of office, while judges decide if it is unconstitutional. There has to be evidence to impeach the president, which is why usually investigations are made to fully expose the truth.
Only 2 presidents, Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, in the U.S. have been impeached. Richard Nixon resigned before he got the chance as there was a threat of its. But, not one has been actually removed from office after trial held by the Senate. The furthest the process has gone was getting impeached by the House.
Currently, an impeachment inquiry is occurring on President Donald Trump. Through the investigation, lawmakers need to decide if there is enough evidence to write up articles of proof enough to impeach him.
A specific action that President Trump took convinced the government for an investigation. Trump used his power as president to persuade the Ukraine government to help him win the election. The White House released a transcript of a call made with President Zelensky of Ukraine over the summer to identify his errors. In the call, Trump asked the Ukrainian president to investigate his main opponent, Joe Biden and his son, to find information that could potentially help him win the 2020 election. Then, it was discovered that he stopped military aid to Ukraine in order for their president to agree to investigate the 2016 election, as Trump has a suspicion that Ukraine meddled with Hunter Biden in the election and not Russia.
The inquiry began by Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, when a whistleblower said that President Trump had pressured the leader of a foreign nation. They alleged that he abused his power for his own personal interests. Testimonies were made by officials and witnesses to acquire more proof.
According to Pelosi, who is a Democrat, “The actions of the Trump presidency revealed a dishonorable fact of the president’s betrayal of his oath of office, betrayal of our national security, and betrayal of the integrity of our elections.”
The House of Representatives has, as of right now, a democratic majority. If Trump gets impeached (where the House votes), it then moves on to the Senate. On the other hand, the Senate has a republican majority. They have to then vote to remove him from office where a trial is also held, reviewing all the information.
President Trump has commented on the impeachment inquiry stating, “There has been no President in the history of our country who has been treated so badly as I have. The Democrats are frozen with hatred and fear. They get nothing done. This should never be allowed to happen to another President. Witch Hunt!” He makes it understood that he is the victim and that he is indeed an honorable president.
There have been polls made to survey what Americans think on this topic. From the Washington Post-Schar School poll that came, a majority of 58% said that the House was right to investigate. 49% think that the president should be impeached. But, finding out where the public stands is hard as many polls cover the impeachment in different ways. The impending possible impeachment of President Donald Trump might occur, depending on the evidence the inquiry presents. No one in the history of America has been fully removed from office before though. The United States feels the intensity of 2 parties and this impeachment inquiry, wondering where this will end.
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