President on Trial

The impeachment trial of President Donald Trump is now under way in the U.S. Senate. Trump faces charges brought against him by the U.S. House of Representatives, following an investigation this past fall. The charges led to Trump’s impeachment by the House. That means the House accused him of serious wrongdoing. Trump is only the third U.S. president to be impeached (see slideshow, below). 

The two charges, known as articles of impeachment, are abuse of power and obstruction of Congress (interfering with Congress’s investigation of him). If enough senators find the president guilty of even just one of the charges, he will be removed from office. If not, he will remain resident. 

The Framers of the Constitution created the impeachment process as a way to remove a president or other government official who is found guilty of significant wrongdoing. The Framers gave Congress the job of deciding whether a president should be impeached and removed from office. A president doesn’t have to break a law to be impeached. Serious misconduct, abuses of power, and violating the public’s trust that he or she will do what is right for the country are impeachable offenses too. 

How did we get to this historic moment, and what will the Senate trial be like? Read on for an explanation. 

This past fall, the House of Representatives held an investigation of President Trump called an impeachment inquiry. The House looked into accusations that he had abused his presidential powers for his own gain by pressuring another country to help with his reelection in 2020. 

That country, Ukraine, relies on the U.S. to help pay for its military defense. White House records show that Trump asked Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president. Biden is one of the top Democratic candidates running for U.S. president. 

Several current and former government officials testified that the Trump administration withheld $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. They said it was their understanding that the administration would release the funds if Ukrainian officials announced investigations of Biden. Many people, including most House Democrats, say that Trump was trying to hurt Biden’s chances at winning the presidency.

After the investigation, the House determined it had clear evidence that Trump had committed impeachable offenses. It charged him with abusing his powers. The House also charged Trump with obstructing its investigation because he ordered members of his administration not to testify and withheld documents related to the case. 

“Over the course of the last three months, we have found [undeniable] evidence that President Trump abused his power by pressuring the . . . president of Ukraine to announce an investigation into President Trump’s political rival,” Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California, said after Trump was impeached. Schiff led the impeachment inquiry.

Trump says he didn’t do anything wrong and has called the impeachment process “harassment.” Republicans in Congress have mostly defended Trump. A few have said they think Trump’s actions were inappropriate but not impeachable. After all, they reason, Ukraine ultimately received the military aid from the U.S.—without opening an investigation of Biden. 

“We did nothing wrong, and we have tremendous support in the Republican Party like never before,” Trump said after the impeachment vote.

A Senate impeachment trial is somewhat like a trial in a courtroom. Lawmakers from the House present the case against the president. The chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court oversees the trial. The president is defended by his personal lawyers. The Senate acts as the jury. If at least two-thirds of the Senate (67 senators) find Trump guilty, he will be removed from office and Vice President Mike Pence will become president. If Trump is not found guilty by at least two-thirds of the Senate, he will stay in the White House.

No U.S. president has ever been removed from office by Congress—and experts say it’s unlikely to happen now. There are 100 senators: 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two Independents. Even if all the Democrats and Independents were to find Trump guilty, at least 20 Republican senators would also need to do so to remove him from office. That probably won’t happen, experts say, because lawmakers tend to support presidents from their own party.

Meanwhile, there has been heated debate about exactly how the Senate trial should be conducted. Democrats want to hear from new witnesses and see documents that were withheld on Trump’s orders during the House investigation. Democrats also want to admit new evidence that has come to light in recent weeks. Senate Republicans have voted against allowing new witnesses and documents—at least for now. They ultimately delayed a final vote on that until later in the trial, a move many Democrats say signals that they won’t allow it.

Many Senate Republicans argue that it was the House’s job to investigate Trump not the Senate’s. They also say that the investigation was baseless to begin with. Democrats argue that all trials have witnesses and evidence, and that the trial will not be fair without them.

For now, we’ll continue to see a lot of news coverage about the Senate trial, which could wrap up as soon as this month.

Polls show that the impeachment of Trump hasn’t changed Americans’ opinions of him one way or another. But the trial could have a big impact on this year’s election, experts say. Trump is the first president to seek reelection after being impeached. 

Trump’s impeachment is expected to motivate many Democrats to get involved in the 2020 election—with the goal of convincing more people who oppose Trump to vote. Meanwhile, Trump is using the accusations against him to energize his supporters to make sure they vote for him next autumn. 

No matter what happens in the trial, the events are expected to significantly increase voter turnout in the fall.