On 6th February 2020, President Donald Trump has been found not guilty in his impeachment trial, ending a bid to remove him from office that bitterly divided the US for months.
What is impeachment?
Impeaching is the “charging of (the holder of a public office) with misconduct”.
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the USA was the third president to be tried as part of an impeachment process after Bill Clinton (42nd) and Andrew Johnson (17th). Neither of these presidents were convicted and removed from office after their trials.
It was alleged by the Democrats that Donald Trump was seeking help from Ukraine to heighten his chances of being re-elected for another term by finding damaging information about Joe Biden, the likely Democrat candidate.
How does a president become impeached?
The American Constitution says a president can be impeached if the president has committed a crime described as treason, bribery or other high crimes. The impeachment process is started in the House of Representatives when a charge is brought forward by a member of the House. Once all the evidence has been provided to the House, a vote is taken as to the validity of the charge. If the charge is deemed to be of sufficient detail and seriousness, a vote of the members will allow the charge to be taken up to the Senate. The Senate then acts like a court to determine if the president is guilty.
by – Kai