Democrats on Tuesday charged US President Donald Trump with two articles of impeachment, abuse of power and obstruction of Congress by pressing his Ukraine counterpart for help in attacking his rivals in the 2020 US election.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler alleged that Trump, a Republican, was trying to undermine the 2020 election for his own benefit.
Nadler said that President Trump put himself ahead of the interests of the country by abusing his powers and pressuring Ukraine to announce an investigation into former vice president Joe Biden, his potential Democratic challenger in the 2020 election.
Nadler said the judiciary panel will introduce two articles "charging the president with high crimes and misdemeanours."
He said the first is dedicated to "abuse of power," alleging that Trump, 73, has "exercised the powers of his office for his personal benefit while ignoring or injuring the public interest."
In two tweets, Trump wrote "WITCH HUNT!" and called the Democrats' accusations against him "ridiculous" and "not true."
White House spokesperson Stephanie Grisham also called the two impeachment articles a "partisan, gratuitous, and pathetic attempt to overthrow the Trump Administration and the results of the 2016 election."
Schiff said the Democrats cannot wait for courts to compel witnesses to testify and documents to be produced because it would mean President Trump could "cheat in just one more election."
On the second charge of obstruction of Congress, he explained that "A president who declares himself above accountability, above the American people and above congress' power of impeachment which is meant to protect against threats to our democratic institutions is the President who sees himself as above the law."
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