Trump impeachment will go ahead as Pelosi tells congress to file charges

Nancy Pelosi has called on the US House of Representatives to move forward with drafting articles of impeachment against Donald Trump, saying “the president abused his power” for personal gain.

“The facts are uncontested: the president abused his power for his own personal political benefit at the expense of our national security”, the house speaker said.

She added: “Today, I am asking our chairmen to proceed with articles of impeachment.”

The historic announcement came as the house-led impeachment inquiry entered a new phase this week, with the House Judiciary Committee hearing public testimony on Wednesday while considering the basis for articles of impeachment against Mr Trump.

Democrats have said the president’s 25 July phone call with Ukraine, in which he called for investigations into one of his 2020 political rivals, Joe Biden, was an obvious example of an impeachable offence. Some have said the evidence showed a clear quid pro quo, in which the White House withheld crucial military aid and a White House visit in exchange for announcements from the Ukrainian president about launching investigations.

Meanwhile, others have said the president was engaged in an impeachable act of bribery when they said he dangled the prospect of the visit and military aid to Ukraine, which is involved in a conflict with Russian-backed insurgents and desperately needs US assistance.

Ms Pelosi said US democracy was “at stake” and that “the president leaves us no choice but to act” by drafting articles of impeachment against him.

The house speaker also said she had made this decision “sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America”.

Mr Trump had earlier challenged the Democrats “if you are going to impeach me, do it now, fast, so we can have a fair trial in the Senate, and so that our Country can get back to business”.

After Ms Pelosi’s announcement he tweeted: “The Do Nothing, Radical Left Democrats have just announced that they are going to seek to Impeach me over NOTHING. They already gave up on the ridiculous Mueller ‘stuff’, so now they hang their hats on two totally appropriate (perfect) phone calls with the Ukrainian President....

“....This will mean that the beyond important and seldom used act of Impeachment will be used routinely to attack future Presidents. That is not what our Founders had in mind. The good thing is that the Republicans have NEVER been more united. We will win!”

Ms Pelosi and the Democrats “should be ashamed”, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham wrote in a tweet. She claimed Mr Trump had “done nothing but lead our country”, adding: “We look forward to a fair trial in the Senate.”

Brad Parscale, the president’s re-election campaign manager, also wrote in a statement: “We are less than a year away from election day 2020 and Democrats can’t possibly explain to the American people why they want to take the decision of who should be president out of the hands of voters.”

“But impeaching the President has always been their goal, so they should just get on with it so we can have a fair trial in the Senate and expose The Swamp for what it is,” he added.

Later, at her monthly press conference, Ms Pelosi reacted angrily when a reporter asked her if her decision to press ahead with impeachment meant that she “hated” the president.

She had been walking away when the question was asked but turned on her heel when she heard it and told the reporter: “I don’t hate anybody.

“As a Catholic, I resent your using the word hate in a sentence that addresses me. I don’t hate anyone ... So, don’t mess with me when it comes to words like that.”