The U.S. House of Representatives approved both articles of U.S. President Donald Trump’s impeachment.
A total of 230 congressmen voted in favor of accusing Trump of abuse of power, 197 - against, one abstained.
Later in the day, 229 lawmakers voted to accuse Trump of obstructing of Congress, 198 were against, one abstained.
For impeachment to take place, at least two-thirds of the votes of senators are required (at least 67). For this reason, with the current line-up of the Senate, the probability of voting in favor of impeachment is virtually reduced to zero. Since the beginning of this year, Republicans (based on the results of the November midterm elections) have 53 out of 100 seats in the upper house of Congress.
The indictment, prepared as a result of the investigation in the Legal Committee, will be transferred to the Senate, where the procedure will turn into a trial. It will be led by the Chairman of the U.S. Supreme Court. In this case the House of Representatives actually acts as a party to the prosecution, and senators play the role of a jury, TASS reported.
Speaking at a Michigan campaign rally, Trump blasted Democrats for what he called "a very dark era." "This lawless partisan impeachment is a political suicide march for the Democrat party," he told the crowd.
"I don't know about you but I'm having a good time. I'm not worried," the U.S. President said.
Only three U.S. presidents have faced impeachment before Trump — Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998 were both impeached, while Richard Nixon resigned before he could be impeached in 1974.
Director of the Institute of Political Studies Sergei Markov, speaking with the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that most likely, this impeachment will not go further than the House of Representatives, since it id opposed by the Republicans who control the Senate. "None of the Republicans supported the impeachment, this suggests that the impeachment procedure will lead to the consolidation of the Republican Party around Donald Trump. In addition, it means that the vote in the Senate, where the Republicans hold the majority, is likely to be 99% favorable for Trump," he explained.
"Following the results of this impeachment campaign, Donald Trump's rating has increased. If earlier he was losing to some Democrats, now he has pulled ahead. Trump has a significant share of 'hidden' voters. After the Senate blocks the impeachment, Trump will have great re-election chances," Sergey Markov added.
"At short hearings they will simply vote against impeachment, and he will be the winner. But if the hearings are long, there will be Joe Biden, Hunter Biden and many others. This, by the way, is a very important point for Russia: if the issue of U.S. corruption in Ukraine are discussed in the Senate, high-profile crimes can be solved there, not only those linked to bribes, but also to harboring acts of terror against political opponents. If so, the Kiev regime may collapse as a result of hearings in the Senate," he concluded
