Updated
The Democratic-controlled House of Representatives
Judiciary Committee has taken Republican President Donald Trump to the
brink of impeachment, approving two charges against him.
Key points:
- The committee adopted each charge against Mr Trump by a margin of 23 to 17
- Republicans have defended Mr Trump and accused Democrats of a politically motivated farce
- Mr Trump would become the third US president to be impeached
The House is expected to approve the two articles of impeachment next week, before politicians depart for the holidays.
Mr Trump is accused, in the first article, of abusing his presidential power by asking Ukraine to investigate his 2020 rival Joe Biden while holding military aid as leverage, and, in the second, of obstructing Congress by blocking the House's efforts to probe his actions.
In back-to-back morning votes, they adopted each charge against Mr Trump by a margin of 23 to 17.
"No one is above the law. The President will be held accountable for his abuse of power and for his obstruction of Congress," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had said on Thursday (local time) as the Judiciary panel argued over the charges.
Republicans have defended Mr Trump and accused Democrats of a politically motivated farce aimed at overturning his surprise 2016 presidential election victory.
After Friday's votes, Mr Trump's press secretary, Stephanie Grisham, labelled the proceedings a "desperate charade".
"The President looks forward to receiving in the Senate the fair treatment and due process which continues to be disgracefully denied to him by the House," she said.
The US House Rules Committee said it would meet on Tuesday to establish procedures for the House of Representatives to follow when it considers the impeachment charges.
Changes of impeachment low
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Mr Trump said on Friday he would not mind a long impeachment trial, telling reporters he wants to see the whistleblower whose complaint led Democrats to launch the impeachment inquiry.
Mr Trump decried the process as a "sham", saying Democrats were trivialising impeachment.
If the full House votes next week to impeach Mr Trump, as expected, the Republican will become the third US president to be impeached.
Which US presidents have been impeached?
- President Andrew Johnson was impeached in 1868 for appointing a cabinet member without Senate approval
- Articles of impeachment were drawn up for Richard Nixon in 1974, but he then resigned
- Bill Clinton was impeached in 1998 over his affair with Monica Lewinsky
- No US president has ever been convicted of an impeachable offence
But the chances of him being removed from office are very low because the Senate, which is dominated by Republicans, will have the final say.
"Today is a solemn and sad day," said the committee's Democratic chairman, Jerry Nadler.
"For the third time in a little over a century and a half, the House Judiciary Committee has voted articles of impeachment against the president."If impeached, Mr Trump will go on trial in the Senate early next year, just as the 2020 presidential campaign begins to pick up speed.
Mr Biden, a former US vice-president, is a leading Democratic candidate to face Mr Trump in November's general election.
Mr Trump has alleged that Mr Biden was involved in corruption in Ukraine and should be investigated. But the President has offered no evidence. The Democrat denies any wrongdoing.
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