US Senate to take up Trump impeachment

Thursday, 16 January 2020 15:46

US President Donald Trump is formally facing trial after articles of impeachment were handed over to the American Senate.

The case against him - for abuse of power and obstruction - will begin on Tuesday.

Trump has called the process a hoax and a con job.

He has been charged with abuse of power for asking Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and then fighting an inquiry into the scheme.

The House, controlled by opposition Democrats, impeached the president last month but it's the Senate, controlled by Trump's Republican Party, that will decide whether to remove him from office.

The Senate is expected to acquit Trump as none of its 53 Republicans has voiced support for removing him.

More from International News

US Senate passes Trump's tax-cut, spending bill; sends to House

The Republican-controlled US Senate passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill on Tuesday, signing off on a massive package that would enshrine many of his top domestic priorities into law while adding $3.3 trillion to the national debt.
France shuts schools as heatwave grips Europe

More than a thousand schools were closed in France on Tuesday and the top floor of the Eiffel Tower was shut to tourists as a severe heatwave continued to grip Europe, triggering health alerts across the region.
Blow for Thailand's government as court suspends PM from duty

Thailand's Constitutional Court on Tuesday suspended Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra from duty pending a case seeking her dismissal, in a major setback for a government under fire on multiple fronts and fighting for its survival.
Trump signs order lifting sanctions on Syria, White House says

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order terminating a US sanctions programme on Syria, allowing an end to the country's isolation from the international financial system and building on Washington's pledge to help it rebuild after a devastating civil war.