Donald Trump impeached? Five questions about the impeachment process

1. What is the exact charge?

Democrats in the House of Representatives have a Monday resolution filed to initiate removal proceedings. They accuse Trump of causing an uprising.

Reference is also made to the repeated claims that he won the election and the phone conversation with Georgia’s chief electoral officer, Brad Raffensperger. Trump urged him to “find” additional votes and threatened him if he didn’t.

2. How does the removal process work?

Today the House of Representatives will vote on the so-called “article of impeachment”. The majority should agree. And then Donald Trump is again dismissedSays the American correspondent Erik Mouthaan. But that doesn’t mean he’s going to be doomed. For this, a trial must first take place. It happens in the Senate and it takes a lot longer. “

This will only be resumed after the inauguration of future president Joe Biden. It is not yet clear exactly how and when the Senate will consider it. When Biden is president, he needs the Senate to carry out his plans. He doesn’t want him constantly chasing Trump. That’s why he suggested they work on it in half a day. Looks like they’re gonna do it. ”

It was also proposed to launch the case in a hundred days, so that Biden would first have room for his political plans. “But a lot of people found it strange: why would they have waited so long when there is now a huge rush,” says Muthaan. So, they will probably start soon.

3. What is the chance of success?

In the House of Representatives, Democrats are in the majority. The chance that they will find Trump guilty is therefore high. The chances of the Senate condemning him are much lower. This requires a two-thirds majority. That means seventeen Republicans are expected to vote for it along with Democrats. It probably won’t happen, ” Mouthaan says. The same thing happened a year ago, when Trump was accused of abuse of power.

4. Why is it so important to Democrats that he be impeached?

Trump’s tenure is only eight days. However, the urgency to remove him is very high, according to Mouthaan. Democrats are truly outraged by the attack on Congress. The majority say Trump incited and defied the rioters. They think he should be punished. They don’t want to let it go like this. Even though he is no longer president next week, they say he should still be punished for it. ”

5. How will Trump supporters react to this?

The atmosphere in America is tense, to say the least. U.S. security forces are warning armed protests across the country are planned ahead of Biden’s inauguration. Doesn’t this impeachment process add even more fuel to the fire?

“Support for Trump is currently weaker than ever,” Mouthaan said. A lot of people blame him for what happened on Capitol Hill. Republicans too. But the question is of course what the hard core will do. He will get angry if Trump is convicted. But it is a minority. Most people want to get rid of it. ”