A deeply divided US House of Representatives took a major step on Thursday in the effort to impeach President Donald Trump when lawmakers approved rules for the next, more public, stage in the Democratic-led inquiry into Trump's attempt to have Ukraine investigate a domestic political rival.

A deeply divided US House of Representatives took a major step on Thursday in the effort to impeach President Donald Trump when lawmakers approved rules for the next, more public, stage in the Democratic-led inquiry into Trump's attempt to have Ukraine investigate a domestic political rival. In the first formal test of support for the impeachment investigation, the Democratic-controlled House voted almost entirely along party lines - 232 to 196 - to move the probe forward in Congress. The vote allows for public impeachment hearings in Congress, which are expected in the coming weeks and portends a bitter battle ahead as the United States heads into a presidential election year. Democrats who accuse Trump of abusing his office and jeopardizing national security for personal political gain were almost unanimous in approving Thursday's measure, but they did not pick up a single Republican vote. "It's a sad day. No one comes to Congress to impeach a president," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote. Televised public hearings featuring US officials testifying in Congress about alleged wrongdoing by Trump could crowd out other issues like the economy and immigration as voters turn their minds to the November 2020 election. That might damage Trump, but some of his supporters say the impeachment drive could actually boost his re-election chances by showing him at loggerheads with Washington-based political foes. Republicans accused Democrats of using impeachment to overturn the results of his 2016 election victory. Trump told a UK radio station the Democrats knew they were losing next year's vote and so were trying to take him down. "The Democrats are desperate, they're desperate. They have nothing," Trump told LBC Radio in an interview. White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham denounced the process as "unfair, unconstitutional and fundamentally un-American." A number of opinion polls ahead of next year's election show several leading Democratic presidential candidates leading Trump. The probe focuses on a July 25 telephone call in which the U.S. president asked his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymr Zelenskiy, to investigate Trump's Democratic political rival Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president, and his son Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Biden is a leading candidate in the Democratic presidential nomination race to face Trump in 2020. He and his son deny any wrongdoing. Trump has also denied wrongdoing. Republicans have largely stuck by him, blasting the impeachment push as a partisan exercise that has given them little input. Thursday's vote showed that Democrats have enough backing in the House to later bring formal charges, known as articles of impeachment, if they feel they have enough evidence. Republic pushback "It should not be Nancy Pelosi and a small group of people that she selects that get to determine who is going to be our president," said Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican. Just two Democrats - Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey - broke with their party and voted against the measure. Both represent districts where Trump won in 2016. Other Democrats from Trump-leaning districts, such as Jared Golden of Maine, voted yes. Representative Justin Amash, who left the Republican Party this year and is now an independent, voted for the measure. If the House eventually votes to impeach Trump, that would set up a trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. Trump would not be removed from office unless the Senate votes to convict him by a two-thirds margin, something that looks unlikely as congressional Republicans have been reluctant to move against the president. The US Constitution gives the House broad authority to set ground rules for an impeachment inquiry and Democrats say they are following House rules on investigations. The investigation is probing whether Trump misused the power of his office and, if so, whether that amounted to "high crimes and misdemeanours" that merit impeachment and removal from office under the Constitution. Democratic leaders in Congress declined to say when public hearings would start, but they are expected to begin in the next few weeks. The inquiry has so far taken place behind closed doors in front of House committee members. Current and former Trump administration officials have testified that the White House went outside normal diplomatic channels to pressure Zelenskiy to investigate the Bidens. The top US diplomat in Ukraine, William Taylor, said Trump held back nearly $400 million in security aid in an attempt to get Zelenskiy to publicly declare that he would carry out the investigations that the U.S. president sought - a "quid pro quo" confirmed by Trump's acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney. Lawmakers leading the inquiry on Thursday heard closed-door testimony from Tim Morrison, the top Russia specialist on Trump's National Security Council. Morrison resigned from his position on Wednesday. Morrison backed up the testimony of other witnesses who said the White House attempted to pressure Ukraine, according to a congressional source. He said he learned of the effort from one of those involved, a Trump donor named Gordon Sondland who serves as the U.S. ambassador to the European Union. Morrison did not criticize Trump directly, however, and said that he did not think anything illegal was discussed on the July 25 call, the congressional source said. Republican US Representative Mark Meadows said Morrison's testimony had been "very damaging" to the case for impeachment. "If any witness would suggest that the impeachment resolution that was passed earlier today should come to a screeching halt, it was this witness," Meadows told reporters, without elaborating on Morrison's deposition. Committee members have asked a prominent player, former national security adviser John Bolton, to appear next week. Others have testified that Bolton was alarmed by a White House effort to pressure Zelenskiy. Bolton's lawyer has said he is not willing to testify unless a subpoena is issued.

Trump impeachment effort passes first test in divided US Congress

Congress formally opened a new, public phase of its corruption <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/house-to-formalise-donald-trump-impeachment-investigation-259008">investigation into Donald Trump</a> on Thursday as US lawmakers voted for the first time to advance the impeachment process targeting the US president.

"Today the House takes the next step forward as we establish the procedures for open hearings... so that the public can see the facts for themselves," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said.

"What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy."

The top Democrat and Trump's chief nemesis in Congress addressed fellow lawmakers shortly before her chamber took a Halloween morning vote along party lines,&nbsp;232 to 196,&nbsp;to pass a resolution that lays out rules for the next stages of the impeachment process.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/white-house-adviser-tells-lawmakers-trump-ukraine-call-raised-national-security-concerns-258751">Trump has repeatedly branded the process as illegitimate</a> and politically motivated and, true to form, his reaction was swift.

"The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!" he boomed on Twitter.

He called on Republicans to rally behind him even as he faced the embarrassing likelihood of becoming the third president in history to be impeached and placed on trial for removal in the Senate, over an alleged extortion scheme to obtain Ukraine's help to get him reelected in 2020.

The embattled president retweeted a rallying cry from Fox News host Laura Ingraham that called on Republicans to "stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears."

"This farce should never be allowed to roll into a winter show trial," read the tweet -- suggesting Trump would want the Republican leadership in the Senate to shut the process down.

Watch: Trump donors charged in campaign impeachment probe

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/trump-impeachment-probe-trump-donors-charged-in-campaign-impeachment-probe-255094/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

Holding Trump 'accountable'

Trump is accused of withholding military aid to compel Ukraine to mount an embarrassing corruption probe against his Democratic election rival Joe Biden, effectively using <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/democrats-to-vote-on-thursday-on-how-to-make-trump-impeachment-probe-public-258587">US foreign policy</a> in an illegal shakedown for his personal political benefit.

Trump and loyal Republicans dismiss the case as a "sham," but congressional investigators have heard a steady flow of corroborating evidence from government officials testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill.

The landmark resolution did not have unanimous Democratic approval. Two Democrats joined all Republicans in opposing the measure, although former Republican Justin Amash, now an independent, supported it.

The inquiry now moves into the public eye -- giving Americans the chance to hear on live television the evidence against Trump.

The House Intelligence Committee, which has led the inquiry so far, will host open hearings, presenting witnesses and documentary evidence and allowing Republicans to challenge the case against Trump.

The minority can also suggest subpoenas but majority Democrats have final say, a rule that has angered Republicans.

"Trying to put a ribbon on a sham process doesn't make it any less of a sham," House Republican Jim Jordan fumed.

Democrats argue that the vote neutralizes a key Republican talking point that the inquiry has no validity because the full House did not sign on.&nbsp;

Neither the House rules nor the US Constitution require such a vote to start an impeachment inquiry.

If the case against Trump is deemed strong enough, the House Judiciary Committee will draw up formal charges against the president -- articles of impeachment -- to be voted on by the full House.

That process could be completed by year end. The Democrat-controlled House is expected to approve impeachment, which would then see Trump go on trial for removal in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority.

Democrats dismissed the charges that the process is partisan.

"There is serious evidence that President Trump may have violated the Constitution," said Jim McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee which drew up the resolution.

"If we don't hold this president accountable, we could be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable."

Witnesses back allegations

Nearly a dozen witnesses so far have confirmed in House depositions the accusations that, in a concerted effort with top aides and his personal lawyer, Trump pressured Ukraine to help his reelection effort in 2020 by producing dirt on Biden, the former vice president.

The allegations focus on a July 25 phone call in which <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/united-states-lawmakers-hear-from-corroborating-witness-in-trump-impeachment-probe-258323">Trump pressed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky</a> to open investigations into Biden and Biden's son, who worked with a Ukraine energy firm.

Tim Morrison, the White House National Security Council's top Russia expert, arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday to be deposed.

According to other witnesses, Morrison, who resigned late Wednesday, has personal knowledge of the White House effort to freeze military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelensky to launch the political investigations.

Investigators also have called on Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton to testify, along with two White House national security lawyers.

Bolton, other witnesses have said, disagreed strongly with Trump's tactics toward Ukraine and the involvement of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine policy.

Congress formally opened a new, public phase of its corruption investigation into Donald Trump on Thursday as US lawmakers voted for the first time to advance the impeachment process targeting the US president.

Congress formally opened a new, public phase of its corruption investigation into Donald Trump on Thursday as US lawmakers voted for the first time to advance the impeachment process targeting the US president. "Today the House takes the next step forward as we establish the procedures for open hearings... so that the public can see the facts for themselves," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "What is at stake in all of this is nothing less than our democracy." The top Democrat and Trump's chief nemesis in Congress addressed fellow lawmakers shortly before her chamber took a Halloween morning vote along party lines, 232 to 196, to pass a resolution that lays out rules for the next stages of the impeachment process. Trump has repeatedly branded the process as illegitimate and politically motivated and, true to form, his reaction was swift. "The Greatest Witch Hunt In American History!" he boomed on Twitter. He called on Republicans to rally behind him even as he faced the embarrassing likelihood of becoming the third president in history to be impeached and placed on trial for removal in the Senate, over an alleged extortion scheme to obtain Ukraine's help to get him reelected in 2020. The embattled president retweeted a rallying cry from Fox News host Laura Ingraham that called on Republicans to "stand together and defend the leader of their party against these smears." "This farce should never be allowed to roll into a winter show trial," read the tweet -- suggesting Trump would want the Republican leadership in the Senate to shut the process down. Watch: Trump donors charged in campaign impeachment probe Holding Trump 'accountable' Trump is accused of withholding military aid to compel Ukraine to mount an embarrassing corruption probe against his Democratic election rival Joe Biden, effectively using US foreign policy in an illegal shakedown for his personal political benefit. Trump and loyal Republicans dismiss the case as a "sham," but congressional investigators have heard a steady flow of corroborating evidence from government officials testifying behind closed doors on Capitol Hill. The landmark resolution did not have unanimous Democratic approval. Two Democrats joined all Republicans in opposing the measure, although former Republican Justin Amash, now an independent, supported it. The inquiry now moves into the public eye -- giving Americans the chance to hear on live television the evidence against Trump. The House Intelligence Committee, which has led the inquiry so far, will host open hearings, presenting witnesses and documentary evidence and allowing Republicans to challenge the case against Trump. The minority can also suggest subpoenas but majority Democrats have final say, a rule that has angered Republicans. "Trying to put a ribbon on a sham process doesn't make it any less of a sham," House Republican Jim Jordan fumed. Democrats argue that the vote neutralizes a key Republican talking point that the inquiry has no validity because the full House did not sign on. Neither the House rules nor the US Constitution require such a vote to start an impeachment inquiry. If the case against Trump is deemed strong enough, the House Judiciary Committee will draw up formal charges against the president -- articles of impeachment -- to be voted on by the full House. That process could be completed by year end. The Democrat-controlled House is expected to approve impeachment, which would then see Trump go on trial for removal in the Senate, where Republicans have a majority. Democrats dismissed the charges that the process is partisan. "There is serious evidence that President Trump may have violated the Constitution," said Jim McGovern, Chairman of the House Rules Committee which drew up the resolution. "If we don't hold this president accountable, we could be ceding our ability to hold any president accountable." Witnesses back allegations Nearly a dozen witnesses so far have confirmed in House depositions the accusations that, in a concerted effort with top aides and his personal lawyer, Trump pressured Ukraine to help his reelection effort in 2020 by producing dirt on Biden, the former vice president. The allegations focus on a July 25 phone call in which Trump pressed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to open investigations into Biden and Biden's son, who worked with a Ukraine energy firm. Tim Morrison, the White House National Security Council's top Russia expert, arrived on Capitol Hill Thursday to be deposed. According to other witnesses, Morrison, who resigned late Wednesday, has personal knowledge of the White House effort to freeze military aid to Ukraine to pressure Zelensky to launch the political investigations. Investigators also have called on Trump's former national security advisor John Bolton to testify, along with two White House national security lawyers. Bolton, other witnesses have said, disagreed strongly with Trump's tactics toward Ukraine and the involvement of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in Ukraine policy.

United States House formalises Trump impeachment process in landmark vote

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