President Cleared of Charges

This past fall, the House of Representatives held an investigation of President Trump called an impeachment inquiry. The House looked into accusations that he had abused his presidential powers for his own gain by pressuring another country to help with his reelection in 2020. 

That country, Ukraine, relies on the U.S. to help pay for its military defense. White House records show that Trump asked Ukraine’s president to investigate Joe Biden, a former U.S. vice president. Biden is one of the top Democratic candidates running for U.S. president. 

Several current and former government officials testified that the Trump administration withheld $400 million in military aid to Ukraine. They said it was their understanding that the administration would release the funds if Ukrainian officials announced investigations of Biden. Many people, including most House Democrats, say that Trump was trying to hurt Biden’s chances at winning the presidency.

After the investigation, the House determined it had clear evidence that Trump had committed impeachable offenses. It charged him with abusing his power. The House also charged Trump with obstructing its investigation because he ordered members of his administration not to testify and withheld documents related to the case. 

Trump has said that he didn’t do anything wrong and called the impeachment process “harassment.” 

During the Senate trial, lawmakers from the House presented their case to the Senate that the president abused his power and obstructed justice. In defending Trump, his personal lawyers argued that there wasn’t enough evidence to convict him—and that the charges against him didn’t amount to an impeachable offense. In the end, enough Senators agreed, and the president was acquitted.

There was heated debate during the trial about allowing new evidence to be introduced. Democrats wanted to hear from new witnesses and see documents that had been withheld during the House investigation on Trump’s orders. Democrats argued that all trials have witnesses and evidence, and that the trial would not be fair without them. But virtually all Senate Republicans voted against allowing new witnesses and documents, saying that it was the House’s job to investigate Trump—not the Senate’s. 

Because Republicans refused to allow new evidence, Democrats have said the trial was a cover-up by Republicans. Democrats in the House vowed to continue investigating the president.

Romney was the first senator in history to vote to remove a president from his own party. He said he believed the evidence against Trump was overwhelming—and that Trump’s actions were an extreme “assault on our Constitution.” 

But many Republicans have defended Trump throughout the impeachment process, saying Democrats simply have it in for Trump because he won the last election. Some Republicans said that what Trump did was wrong, but not impeachable—and that voters should be the ones to decide if he should remain in office in the presidential election this November.

The trial could have a big impact on this year’s election, experts say. Trump is the first president to seek reelection after being impeached. 

Recent polls have shown that Trump’s approval rating has gone up, and Trump is using his acquittal to further energize his supporters. After the trial was over, Trump’s presidential campaign manager, Brad Parscale, said in a statement that Trump’s campaign “only got bigger and stronger as a result of this nonsense.”

Meanwhile, some people think Trump’s impeachment will help the Democratic candidate in this year’s presidential election. House Leader Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, has said Trump’s impeachment in the House—and the fact that some Republicans have admitted he did something wrong—will be something voters take into account at the polls. 

“Whatever happens,” she told The New York Times, “he has been impeached forever.”