Trump slams ‘hoax’ as impeachment case moves to Senate

The US House of Representatives has passed a resolution to submit articles of impeachment against Donald Trump to the Senate for a trial.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed copies of the articles alongside the team of Democratic lawmakers who will prosecute the case against the US president. The resolution passed largely along party lines by 228 votes to 193.

“What is at stake here is the constitution of the United States,” Pelosi said. “This is what an impeachment is about. The president violated his oath of office, undermined our national security, jeopardised the integrity of our elections.”

With tensions rising in Washington, Fox News says Pelosi “needled” Trump when she said: “He’s been impeached forever. They can never erase that.”

During an event at the White House yesterday, Trump once again rejected the impeachment charges, describing them as a “hoax”. The White House released a statement saying “President Trump has done nothing wrong” and “expects to be fully exonerated”.

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The Senate, controlled by Republicans, will decide whether to convict and remove Trump from office, in a trial due to begin next Tuesday. The BBC notes that the Senate is “all but certain to acquit him”.

Trump was impeached last month for abuse of power and for obstruction of Congress for pressing Ukraine to announce false investigations of the former vice-president Joe Biden.

The evidence against the president is mounting. On Tuesday, Democrats released newly gathered material including a handwritten note by an associate of Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani, describing a plot involving the Ukrainian president and Biden.

Meanwhile, CNN looks ahead to Trump's anticipated acquital: “Once the impeachment drama finally ends, American politics will coalesce around the looming presidential election. It will be a reminder that the ultimate clash between Trump and accountability will come in November.”