What is Happening at the Impeachment Hearing?

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(Newswire.net — November 23, 2019) — Donald Trump’s impeachment hearings are well underway. However, with all the legal jargon and various testimonies, it can be difficult to know whats going on. Here’s a simple breakdown of whats happening.

What is impeachment?

The US constitution states a president “shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery, or other high crimes or misdemeanours”.

In short, Trump may be removed from office if it is found that he has commited significant crimes or misdemenours. 

What is Trump facing impeachment for?

President Trump is being accused of pressuring the Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky to find information that could have been potentially damming to his rival Joe Biden and his son, Hunter. This was while Joe Biden was vice-president, and his son Hunter was working in Ukraine. 

This accusation has led to this impeachment trial as asking foreign entities for help in winning a US election is illegal.

At the heart of the story is a complaint from a whistleblower – an unnamed intelligence official – who wrote a letter expressing concern about Mr Trump’s July 25th call with Mr Zelensky.

A brief timeline of events

Since the complaint made by the whistleblower, it was announced by Nancy Pelosi, the house speaker, that there would be an impeachment inquiry. This was announced on the 24th of September. Since then, Congress have been investigating the allegations against Trump regarding Ukraine.

Democrats have regarded Trump’s actions as ‘an abuse of power‘ that is certainly grounds for impeachment. However, the Republicans have stated that Trump’s conduct was concerning but not impeachable. 

Since the announcement of the impeachment hearing, the White House have released a letter stating that they will refuse to cooperate with the impeachment inquiry, and accusing Democrats of trying to reverse the result of the 2016 election.

Now, as the impeachment hearings continue, there have been multiple testimonies against Trump, stating that they were concerned about Trump’s handling with Ukraine. 

It is certainly a difficult yet interesting subject to understand, and it remains to be seen whether Trump will be impeached.