Trump acquitted on both charges in impeachment trial

President Trump was formally acquitted on both counts of impeachment by the US Senate on Wednesday 

US President Donald Trump has been cleared in his impeachment trial, after the US Senate put it to a vote on Wednesday.

The Senate, run by the president’s fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and by 53-47 on obstruction of Congress.

As a result of the controversial outcome, in November, Trump will be the first impeached president to go for election.

He denied any wrongdoing throughout the proceedings.

To this date, Trump marks the third US president to face impeachment and be acquitted of charges. Two presidents, Bill Clinton, in 1998, and Andrew Johnson, in 1868, were impeached — though, similarly, both were acquitted by the senate. Richard Nixon resigned before he was formally impeached.

What caused the scandal? 

The impeachment scandal revolved around whether Trump held back hundreds of millions of dollars worth of aid to Ukraine in an attempt to pressure its leader to investigate Joe Biden, and his son Hunter Biden who once worked for a Ukrainian gas company. A whistleblower in the US intelligence community brought an internal complaint, reportedly about a “promise”  Trump made to Ukraine.

Trump acknowledged that a meeting between the two took place, but denies the claim that he added pressure into an investigation.

…”[I will release] fully declassified and unredacted transcript of my phone conversation with President Zelensky of Ukraine…. You will see it was a very friendly and totally appropriate call. No pressure and, unlike Joe Biden and his son, NO quid pro quo! This is nothing more than a continuation of the Greatest and most Destructive Witch Hunt of all time!” he tweeted, hours before his impeachment was formally announced.

Following his impeachment announcement, Trump unleashed a series of angry tweets:

They never even saw the transcript of the call. A total Witch Hunt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

PRESIDENTIAL HARASSMENT!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

Mitt Romney of Utah was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Mr Trump, on the first charge of abuse of power.

This is what putting country before party looks like. Good for Mitt Romney.pic.twitter.com/Z7VmycrjwI

— David Lammy (@DavidLammy) February 5, 2020

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said earlier on the Senate floor that the president was “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust.”

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The Trump campaign said in a statement: “President Trump has been totally vindicated and it’s now time to get back to the business of the American people.

“The do-nothing Democrats know they can’t beat him, so they had to impeach him.”

Trump is seeking a four-year reelection term in November.

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