Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


House to Vote on Sending Impeachment Articles to Senate

Katherine Gypson

   CAPITOL HILL - The House of Representatives voted Wednesday on whether
   to send the articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump
   to the Senate.

   The measure in the Democratic-controlled House is certain to pass
   easily, opening the door for an impeachment trial to begin next week.

   Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi made the announcement Tuesday after
   meeting with fellow Democrats, nearly a month after the House impeached
   Trump on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

   Pelosi said the House would also vote Wednesday to name the impeachment
   managers -- lawmakers who will act as prosecutors in a Senate trial.

   Senate Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate would
   run through "housekeeping measures" later this week. Those measures
   will include approving a set of rules, as well as U.S. Supreme Court
   Chief Justice John Roberts swearing in senators before opening
   arguments begin next week.

   "We'll deal with the witness issue at the appropriate time during the
   trial - both sides will want to call witnesses they want to hear from,"
   McConnell told reporters on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

   The impeachment allegations contend Trump abused the office of the
   presidency by pressing Ukraine to launch an investigation into Biden
   and that the president obstructed congressional efforts to investigate
   his Ukraine-related actions.

   Pelosi had delayed sending the articles to the Senate in a futile
   effort to get Senate Republican leader McConnell to agree to hear
   testimony from key Trump aides who were directly involved with Trump,
   as his administration temporarily withheld nearly $400 million in
   military aid to Ukraine, while urging Ukrainian President Volodymyr
   Zelenskiy to open the Biden investigation.

.