Trump rejects impeachment charges as an affront to u s constitution
I think there may be some confusion here. Donald Trump, the 45th President of the United States, was indeed impeached by the House of Representatives in December 2019 on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. However, he was acquitted by the Senate in February 2020 and did not face removal from office.
It's possible that you may be referring to the impeachment inquiry and trial that took place in 2019-2020, during which Trump rejected the charges against him. Here's a brief summary:
In September 2019, a whistleblower complaint alleged that Trump had pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, who had business dealings in Ukraine. The complaint sparked an impeachment inquiry by the House of Representatives, which led to the drafting of articles of impeachment against Trump.
On December 18, 2019, the House voted to impeach Trump on two charges:
- Abuse of power: The charge alleged that Trump had used his office to pressure Ukraine to investigate Biden and his son, and that he had withheld military aid to Ukraine to achieve this goal.
- Obstruction of Congress: The charge alleged that Trump had obstructed the impeachment inquiry by refusing to cooperate with congressional subpoenas and by directing his administration to ignore congressional requests for information.
Trump denied any wrongdoing and rejected the charges, calling the impeachment inquiry a "witch hunt" and a "hoax." He argued that his phone call with Zelensky was "perfect" and that there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
In January 2020, the Senate held a trial to determine whether Trump should be removed from office. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both charges, with 52 senators voting to acquit and 48 voting to convict. The acquittal meant that Trump was not removed from office.
It's worth noting that while Trump was acquitted, the impeachment inquiry and trial highlighted concerns about the president's actions and the potential for abuse of power. The inquiry also led to the release of previously classified documents and testimony from key witnesses, which shed light on the events surrounding the phone call with Zelensky.