Following two days of heated debate, the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump — for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — setting the stage for a vote before the full House next week.

The two votes — each 23-17 — come after the panel abruptly postponed the historic tallies late Thursday following a session of almost 14 hours that was bogged down by partisan bickering, with Republicans insisting on amendments designed to kill the two formal charges.

In the first article, Trump is accused of abusing his presidential power by asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a July 25 phone call to launch a probe of former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter while holding nearly $400 million in military aid and a White House meeting as leverage.

The president also sought a probe of an unfounded theory that Ukraine conspired with Democrats to interfere in the 2016 presidential election.

The July phone call prompted a whistleblower’s complaint.

The second article accuses Trump of obstructing Congress by blocking the House’s efforts to investigate his actions.

The House Intelligence Committee heard testimony from a number of witnesses about Trump’s dealing with Ukraine and sent a report to the Judiciary Committee earlier this month.

If the full House impeaches Trump, the GOP-controlled Senate would hold a trial to determine whether the president should be removed from office.

A two-thirds vote is required to oust the commander-in-chief.

Trump is only the fourth US president to face impeachment proceedings and the first to be running for re-election at the same time — and Americans remain deeply divided over whether he indeed committed impeachable acts.

The president insists he did nothing wrong and has repeatedly slammed the Democrats’ efforts as a sham and harmful to the nation.

Trump’s Republican allies seem unwavering in their opposition to expelling the president, and he claims to be looking ahead to swift acquittal in a Senate trial.

Source: Read Full Article