Could Trump be impeached?
In a move that has been touted since pretty much the day Donald Trump took office, it appears that the impeachment proceedings into the President are close to becoming a reality.
This afternoon, the New York Times reported that Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, who has long held out against calls to begin impeachment proceedings into Trump.
It appears that the tipping point has been allegations that Trump "pressured the president of Ukraine to open a corruption investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., a leading contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, and his son."
It has been suggested that Trump may have even withheld aid from Ukraine in an attempt to exert pressure.
The explosive accusations were made public after a whistleblower made a complaint with regards to Trump's conduct.
As such, it is expected that Pelosi will this evening announce that House Democrats will begin an inquiry into the allegations, with a view to impeaching Donald Trump.
In the 2016 election campaign, Trump also openly called for the Russian government to hack into the emails of his opponent Hillary Clinton.
If the House, which has a Democrat majority, does vote to impeach Trump, then articles of impeachment will be forwarded to the Senate to adjudicate on whether Trump is guilty or not. As it stands, Republicans have a majority in the Senate, and a two-thirds majority is needed for the Senate to convict the president — meaning that a conviction is unlikely.
If impeached, Trump would become only the third president ever to suffer the fate. Previously, Andrew Johnson and Clinton were both impeached, though the Senate declined to convict either.
Similarly, Richard Nixon resigned the presidency before his impeachment could be formalised.
