Democrats take major step forward in impeachment effort against Trump
ADVERTISEMENTDemocrats in the US have taken a major step forward in the impeachment process against President Donald Trump, approving rules for the next stage of the inquiry into his alleged attempt to have Ukraine investigate Democrat presidential hopeful Joe Biden and his son.
The Democrat-controlled US House of Representatives voted by 232 to 196 to establish how to hold public hearings in Congress, which could be damaging for Trump ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
It was the first formal test of support for the impeachment probe and showed that Democrats have enough backing in the House to later bring formal charges, known as articles of impeachment, against Trump if they feel they have enough evidence.
House Democrats say Trump has abused his office for personal gain and jeopardized national security by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to investigate Joe Biden, a former US 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 the November 2020 election.
"It's a sad day. No one comes to Congress to impeach a president," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said before the vote.
Republicans have largely stuck by Trump, who responded to the news on Twitter.
The vote largely broke along party lines. Only two Democrats voted against and no Republicans backed it.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the inquiry a sham. If the House eventually votes to impeach him, 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.