Trump rages against impeachment as newly released report alleges he committed 'multiple federal crimes'

The House Judiciary Committee accused Donald Trump of “betraying the nation” for his own personal gain in a report on Monday, as congress prepared to hold a historic vote on whether to impeach the president.

Detailing its case, the judiciary panel released a 650-page report which said Mr Trump “betrayed the nation by abusing his high office to enlist a foreign power in corrupting democratic elections”.

Mr Trump faces two articles of impeachment by House Democrats: abuse of power and obstruction of congress.

They point to the president pressuring Ukraine to investigate 2020 political rival Joe Biden while withholding crucial military aid the country relies on in order to counter Russia, as well as his efforts to block the House investigation.

On Monday, the president tweeted in caps: “READ THE TRANSCRIPTS!”

He added: “The Impeachment Hoax is the greatest con job in the history of American politics! The Fake News Media, and their partner, the Democrat Party, are working overtime to make life for the United Republican Party, and all it stands for, as difficult as possible!”

The House will vote on Wednesday on the impeachment articles approved last week by the House Judiciary panel. The vote is all but certain to result in Mr Trump’s impeachment, although he’s expected to be acquitted in a senate trial.

The panel summarised the evidence for impeachment compiled by the House Intelligence Committee, and said Mr Trump “has demonstrated he will remain a threat to national security and the constitution if allowed to remain in office”.

The president, by refusing to cooperate with the House impeachment inquiry, violated the constitution’s system of checks and balances, the report said.

In dissent, Republicans on the panel denounced the materials submitted by Democrats as “paltry”.

“The paltry record on which the majority relies is an affront to the constitutional process of impeachment and will have grave consequences for future presidents,” said Doug Collins of Georgia, the panel’s top Republican. “The quicker the majority report and the majority’s actions are forgotten, the better.”

And the White House press secretary tweeted on Monday that the release of the impeachment report “in the middle of the night” underscored that impeachment effort was a “partisan sham”.

Only the fourth US president to be charged in impeachment proceedings, Mr Trump has insisted he has done nothing wrong.

On Monday, Mr Trump continued posting tweets and retweets attempting to undermine the allegations against him.

He also tweeted claims about a “stock market high” announced this week, adding: “I will never get bored of telling you that – and we will never get tired of winning!”

Additional reporting by AP