The US House on Wednesday delivered two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump to the Senate. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also named managers for the impeachment trial.
She named seven Democrats California Representative Adam Schiff, New York Representative Jerry Nadler, Zoe Lofgren of California, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Val Demings of Florida, Jason Crow of Colorado and Sylvia Garcia of Texas as managers.
She also signed the articles, which charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, before they were ceremonially walked through the Capitol to the Republican-controlled Senate.
“So sad, so tragic for our country, that the actions taken by the president to undermine our national security, to violate his oath of office and to jeopardize the security of our elections, has taken us to this place,” said Pelosi, who used several ceremonial pens to sign the articles.
Senators will be sworn in as jurors on Thursday and the trial will commence on January 21. Trump will be the third president after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton to be tried at the Senate.
Senator Mitch McConnell said, “We'll pledge to rise above the petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states and the nation.” He attacked the Democrats and said that the impeachment trial is "the kind of anti-democratic recall measure that the founding fathers explicitly, explicitly did not want."
Donald Trump was formally impeached on December 18 when the Democratic-controlled House charged him with abusing his power by illicitly seeking help from Ukraine for his reelection.
The president is also charged with obstruction for holding back witnesses and documents from the House impeachment investigation, thus defying Congressional subpoenas.
House Speaker Pelosi had held on to the articles of impeachment as she wanted to ensure a fair trial by the Senate, where Republicans enjoy a majority. Pelosi has also demanded that witnesses testify, including key Trump administration officials with firsthand knowledge of the president's efforts to pressure Ukraine which formed the basis of his impeachment.
