Democrats to announce impeachment articles Tuesday

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - House Democrats are expected to announce two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported late Monday.

Citing three officials familiar with the matter, the Post said the lawmakers will focus on abuse of power and obstructing Congress. A full vote in the House of Representatives is expected next week.

The announcement is expected to be made by Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and other pertinent committee leaders.

Earlier in the day, lawyers for America’s two main parties made powerful statements before the House Judiciary Committee as it weighed whether Trump should be removed from office amid claims he used military aid to pressure Kiev to dig up dirt on his political rival in next year's election.

A vote in the Democrat-run House in favor of impeachment could kickstart a trial in the Senate, which is controlled by the Republicans and where a two-thirds vote of senators would be required to boot Trump out of the White House.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives launched impeachment proceedings against Trump on Sept. 24 following claims by a whistleblower that the commander-in-chief had sought to pressure Ukraine to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential elections.

In a July 25 phone call, Trump allegedly made nearly $400 million in military aid to help Ukraine fight Russian-backed separatists and a coveted White House meeting for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky contingent on a “quid pro quo” arrangement.

In return, Zelensky was supposed to open corruption probes into Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president, and his son, Hunter, who served on the board of Ukrainian gas company Burisma, as well as into alleged Ukrainian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election.

The elder Biden is a leading candidate in the race to win the Democratic nomination and challenge Trump in 2020. Trump, a Republican, has accused Democrats of time-wasting and says the inquiry amounts to a “witch hunt”.