The Impeachment Process: What is it and why is it happening now?
Ahh, impeachment. It’s a word thrown out during every president’s term and most of the time means: “I don’t like this guy, he deserves to be impeached!”
Well, as we’ve been learning this past couple of months, a president being impeached is a much longer process than we might have thought.
So let’s break down all the little parts of this impeachment process.
First, what does impeachment actually mean?
Impeachment is the process in which a government official is charged with doing something illegal and goes through a process where he/she might be overturned of their power by the end of it.
So what crime is President Trump being accused of?
Trump has been accused of calling and asking President Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, to dig up information that could hurt Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s biggest opponent so far in the 2020 presidential race, and his son Hunter Biden.
Trump has also been accused of bargaining with the Ukranian president – he’s accused of withholding $400 million of military aid to Ukraine that was previously allocated by Congress, and withholding a White House meeting for Ukraine’s president unless Ukraine looked into the Bidens.
Why Ukraine?
Hunter Biden worked for a Ukrainian gas company during the Obama Administration.
Why is this wrong?
Democrats are calling this phone call between President Trump and President Zelensky an abuse of presidential power. They’re also accusing President Trump of using his office for political gain and trying to harm national security.
Well, is there any evidence for the Democrat’s claims?
In short, yes. This first started when an anonymous whistleblower reached out to the public via written letter where they expressed concerns about the phone call between Trump and Zelensky. This is what started the impeachment process in September.
A rough transcript of the infamous phone call was later released for anyone and everyone to read, and many believe that there is proof in that phone call that President Trump did try to urge President Zelensky to look into the Biden’s.
This call also came after President Trump blocked the release of millions of dollars that was supposed to be given to Ukraine for military aid (remember that bargaining chip he’s accused of using?)
Still following? Okay, now let’s talk about what President Trump’s defense is.
Trump denies using military aid as a bargaining chip with President Zelensky and keeps boasting that his call with the Ukrainian president was “perfect”.
He has consistently referred to this impeachment process as a “witch hunt” conducted by the Democrats and the media.
He also said that he only wanted Ukraine to look into the Biden’s just to be sure there was no corruption going on during Hunter Biden’s time working with that gas company.
The Republicans are fighting on three big pieces of information: the Ukrainian president said he felt no pressure during his phone call with Trump, Ukraine was unaware that the military aid was held back, and the military aid was eventually given to them.
Now that we know the why, let’s talk about how this process will go forward.
Once the impeachment is in a trial, it’s up to the House of Representatives to vote on whether or not to impeach President Trump. If the vote does get approved, the trial will move into the Senate where they will vote to remove him or to not remove him.
The Senate is currently ruled by Republicans.
What happens if Trump is removed?
If the Senate does vote to remove President Trump, then Vice President Mike Pence will step into the role of President until the 2020 election takes place where he may be voted out.
