First impeachment of Donald Trump

First impeachment of Donald Trump
First impeachment of Donald Trump
	Members of House of Representatives vote on two articles of impeachment
Accused	Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States
Proponents	Nancy Pelosi; (Speaker of the House of Representatives); Adam Schiff; (Chair of the House Intelligence Committee); Jerry Nadler; (Chair of the House Judiciary Committee);
Date	December 18, 2019 ⁠–⁠ February 5, 2020; (1 month, 2 weeks and 4 days)
Outcome	Acquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in the office of President of the United States
Charges	Abuse of power, obstruction of Congress
Cause	Allegations that Trump unlawfully solicited Ukrainian authorities to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election
Congressional votes
Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives
Accusation	Abuse of power
Votes in favor	230
Votes against	197
Present	1
Not voting	3
Result	Approved
Accusation	Obstruction of Congress
Votes in favor	229
Votes against	198
Present	1
Not voting	3
Result	Approved
Voting in the U.S. Senate
Accusation	Article I – Abuse of power
Votes in favor	48 "guilty"
Votes against	52 "not guilty"
Result	Acquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)
Accusation	Article II – Obstruction of Congress
Votes in favor	47 "guilty"
Votes against	53 "not guilty"
Result	Acquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction)

The first impeachment of President Donald Trump occurred on December 18, 2019. On that date, the House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment.^[2]

Trump's first impeachment took place after a formal House inquiry found that he had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election to help his re-election bid, and had then obstructed the inquiry itself by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony. The inquiry reported that Trump withheld military aid^[a] and an invitation to the White House from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to influence Ukraine to announce an investigation into Trump's political opponent Joe Biden, and to promote a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine–⁠not Russia–⁠was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election.^[4]^[5] The inquiry stage of Trump's impeachment lasted from September to November 2019 in the wake of an August whistleblower complaint alleging Trump's abuse of power.^[4] A set of impeachment hearings before the House Judiciary Committee began on December 4, 2019; on December 13, the committee voted 23–17 (along party lines) to recommend articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Two days later, the full House approved both articles in a mostly party-line vote.^[6] Trump is the third U.S. president in history to be impeached and the first to be impeached without support for the impeachment from his own party.

The articles of impeachment were submitted to the Senate on January 16, 2020, initiating an impeachment trial. The trial saw no witnesses or documents being subpoenaed, as Republican senators rejected attempts to introduce subpoenas. On February 5, Trump was acquitted on both counts by the Senate, as neither count received 67 votes to convict.^[7]

Trump remained in office for the remainder of his term. However, he was impeached for a second time in 2021 following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, making him the first U.S. president in history to be impeached twice. Trump was again acquitted by the Senate in February 2021 after he had left office.

^ Fandos, Nicholas; Shear, Michael D. (December 18, 2019). "Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress – Voting nearly along party lines, the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president in history to face removal by the Senate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
^ Ewing, Philip (February 5, 2020). "'Not Guilty': Trump Acquitted On 2 Articles Of Impeachment As Historic Trial Closes". NPR. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
^ Cite error: The named reference Zelensky bowed until luck was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b Vindman, Alexander (August 1, 2021). "What I Heard in the White House Basement". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.
^ Rascoe, Ayesha (November 7, 2019). "Who Was On The Trump-Ukraine Call?". NPR. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Bump, Philip (February 5, 2020). "No senator ever voted to remove a president of his own party from office. Until Mitt Romney". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[NYT-20191218-1] Fandos, Nicholas; Shear, Michael D. (December 18, 2019). "Trump Impeached for Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress – Voting nearly along party lines, the House approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, making him the third president in history to face removal by the Senate". The New York Times. Archived from the original on January 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2019.

[2] Ewing, Philip (February 5, 2020). "'Not Guilty': Trump Acquitted On 2 Articles Of Impeachment As Historic Trial Closes". NPR. Retrieved February 8, 2021.

[Zelensky_bowed_until_luck-3] Cite error: The named reference Zelensky bowed until luck was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Vindman_8/1/2021-5] Vindman, Alexander (August 1, 2021). "What I Heard in the White House Basement". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 18, 2022.

[npr-call-6] Rascoe, Ayesha (November 7, 2019). "Who Was On The Trump-Ukraine Call?". NPR. Retrieved January 13, 2023.

[:1-7] Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[8] Bump, Philip (February 5, 2020). "No senator ever voted to remove a president of his own party from office. Until Mitt Romney". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 6, 2020. Retrieved February 6, 2020.

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