Trump acquitted by Senate in impeachment trial

President Donald Trump has been found not guilty in his impeachment trial, ending a bid to remove him from office that bitterly divided the US.

The Senate, run by the president’s fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and 53-47 on obstruction of Congress. He now becomes the third President in the US history to be impeached by House of Representatives and acquitted by the Senate. The other two Presidents were Bill Clinton in 1999 and Andrew Johnson in 1868.

Highlights

• Mr Trump was accused of charges that he had sought help from Ukraine to bolster his 2020 re-election.
• The Supreme Court Judge who presided over the trial adjudged the case as two-thirds of the senators pronounced him not guilty.

Background

• The Democrat-led House of Representatives had voted along party lines on two articles of impeachment on December 18, 2020 to initiate the impeachment process.
• With the Senate acquitting Trump of both the charges, Donald Trump will remain in office.
• He will face the democrat challenge again during US Elections 2020 when he will be seeking a second term.
• Donald Trump is the third US President to face the impeachment trial and survive in the history of US Politics.
• Apart from Trump, two other US Presidents were impeached by the US House of Representatives – Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.
• However, all the three Presidents were acquitted by the Senate and thus not removed from the office.
• Under the US Constitution, Congress has the authority to remove the US President in two separate proceedings, first in the House of Representatives that impeaches the President through a simple majority vote and second is the impeachment trial, which takes place in the Senate.
• A two-third majority is required to proceed with the impeachment process in each of the houses and only after that, the President can be removed from the office. The US Constitution also limits a president to two elected four-year terms in office.

US President Impeachment

• The Constitution of United States authorizes the House of Representatives to remove a US President over a simple majority vote.
• At the house of Senate, the President is impeached through a trial presided over by the Chief Justice of Supreme Court that requires two-thirds majority.

India

• The Impeachment Procedure of President of India is provided in the Article 61 of the Indian Constitution.
• In India the President shall be impeached for violating Constitution of India.

PAPER-II