Divided US House impeaches President Donald Trump in historic vote

DonaldTrumpon Wednesday became the thirdUSpresident to be impeached as theHouseof Representatives formally charged him with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress in ahistoricstep that will inflame partisan tensions across a deeplydividedAmerica.

Also Watch:Donald Trump impeached on two counts by US House

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The Democratic-ledHouse's passage of two articles of impeachment on a mostly party-linevotesets the stage for a trial next month in the Republican-controlled Senate, friendlier terrain forTrump, on whether to convict and remove him from office.

No president in the 243-year history of the United States has been removed from office by impeachment. That would require a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate, meaning at least 20 Republicans would have to join Democrats in voting againstTrumpand none have indicated they will.

The Senate's top Republican, Mitch McConnell, has predicted there is "no chance" his chamber will removeTrumpwhen it holds its trial.HouseSpeaker Nancy Pelosi said after thevoteshe would wait to name theHousemanagers, or prosecutors, until she knew more about the procedures for the Senate trial. She did not specify when she would send the articles to the Senate.

"So far, we haven't seen anything that looks fair to us," Pelosi told reporters.

Trump, 73, is accused of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden, a leading contender for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, as well as a discredited theory that Democrats conspired with Ukraine to meddle in the 2016 election.

Democrats saidTrumpheld back $391 million in security aid intended to combat Russia-backed separatists and a coveted WhiteHousemeeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as leverage to coerce Kiev into interfering in the 2020 election by smearing Biden.

The second article accusedTrumpof obstruction of Congress by directing administration officials and agencies not to comply with lawfulHousesubpoenas for testimony and documents related to impeachment.

Trump, who is seeking another four-year term in the November 2020 presidential election, has denied wrongdoing and called the impeachment inquiry launched by Pelosi in September a "witch hunt."

At a raucous rally for his re-election in Battle Creek, Michigan, as theHousevoted,Trumpsaid the impeachment would be a "mark of shame" for Democrats and Pelosi, and cost them in the 2020 election.

"This lawless, partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat Party,"Trumpsaid. "They're the ones who should be impeached, every one of them."

Here to defend democracy

During a daylong debate before thevote, Pelosi read theUSPledge of Allegiance and said: "We are here to defend democracy for the people."

"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," Pelosi said.

Also Watch:Nancy Pelosi and Trump impeachment

As the debate unfolded, Republicans accused Democrats of seeking to use an unfair, rigged process to nullify the 2016 election and influence the 2020vote.

"The matter before theHousetoday is based solely on a fundamental hatred of our president. It's a sham, a witch hunt and it's tantamount to a coup against the duly elected president of the United States," Republican Representative Mike Rogers said.

Republican Representative Mike Kelly compared the impeachment to the Japanese attack on Hawaii's Pearl Harbor in 1941, calling theHouseproceedings another "date that will live in infamy", similar to the words Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt used to describe the raid that killed about 2,400 people and led to America's entry into World War Two.

The abuse of power article was passed on a 230-197voteand the obstruction article was passed 229-198. All of theHouseRepublicans opposed the articles, and two Democrats, Collin Peterson and Jeff Van Drew,voted no on both. Democrat Jared Goldenvoted against the obstruction charge but for abuse of power.

"The only part of thevotethat was bipartisan was in opposition. The President is just getting stronger while support for the Democrats’ political theater has faded,"Trumpcampaign manager Brad Parscale said in a statement.

USRepresentative Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic presidential candidate,voted present on both articles, declaring in a statement: "I could not in good consciencevoteeither yes or no."

Polarized Country

Trump's election has polarized the United States, dividing families and friends and making it more difficult for politicians in Washington to find middle ground as they try to confront pressing challenges like the rise of China and climate change.

The impeachmentvotecomes ahead ofTrump's re-election campaign, which will pit him against the winner among a field of Democratic contenders, including Biden, who have repeatedly criticizedTrump's conduct in office and promised to make it a key issue.

"PresidentTrumpabused his power, violated his oath of office, and betrayed our nation," Biden said on Twitter after thevote, adding: "In the United States of America, no one is above the law,not even the president."

Polls show that while most Democrats want to see him impeached, most Republicans do not. Televised hearings last month that were meant to build public support for impeachment appear to have pushed the two sides further apart.

TheHousevoteon Wednesday was just the latest, but also unquestionably the biggest, in a string of controversies that have buffeted the turbulent presidency of the New York real estate mogul and former reality TV personality.

Central to the impeachment inquiry was a July 25 telephone call in whichTrumpasked Zelenskiy to investigate Biden and his son Hunter Biden, who had joined the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma while his father wasUSvice president.

Trumphas accused the Bidens of corruption without offering evidence. They have denied wrongdoing.

A rough transcript of the call released by the WhiteHouseshowedTrumpasking Zelenskiy, elected only three months earlier and eager for American support, to "do us a favor" and conduct the investigations in coordination with his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.

Giuliani in the prior months had engaged in a concerted effort to persuade Ukraine to carry out the investigations. Testimony beforeHousecommittees showed that Giuliani helped engineerTrump's removal last May of theUSambassador to Ukraine, who was perceived as a roadblock to those investigations.

Impeachment is a remedy devised by the United States' founders, wary of a monarch on American soil after breaking away from Britain and King George III in the 18th century, to enable Congress to remove a president who has committed "high crimes and misdemeanors."

Only two previous presidents have been impeached. TheHousein 1998 impeached President Bill Clinton on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice arising from a sexual relationship he had with a WhiteHouseintern, but the Senate acquitted him. TheHouseimpeached President Andrew Johnson in 1868, focused on his removal of the secretary of war, but he was acquitted by onevotein the Senate.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon resigned after theHouseJudiciary Committee approved articles of impeachment in the Watergate corruption scandal but before the fullHousecould pass them.