After two hours of vitriolic debate, the Democrats decided on Thursday, December 12, to postpone the adoption in committee of the Donald Trump indictment until Friday morning. Elected officials of the Judicial Committee of the House of Representatives clashed verbally over the two charges against the president which the Democrats had charged: " abuse of power " and "Hindering the smooth running of the Congress".
The Republicans denounced a " prank call ", a "Masquerade", a "Set up", evoked a "Puppet court" or "dictator". "It is premeditated, you have been trying to indict the president since his election! ", among others launched the elected Debbie Lesko.
"No one is above the law", retorted the Democrats. "No president is supposed to be a dictator in the United States"added Jerry Nadler, the Democratic head of the commission. Shortly after 11 p.m., he announced that he would adjourn the debate until 10 a.m. on Friday. Nadler said he wanted to give elected officials time "Make an examination of conscience before deciding".
A vote is therefore expected on each of the charges. He will then return to the chamber to vote on these texts during a plenary session, scheduled for Wednesday according to American media.
The Senate will decide the outcome of the trial
As each side remains united, Donald Trump is almost guaranteed to be indicted in the lower house, where the Democrats have a comfortable majority, then acquitted in the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, probably in January. The head of the Republican majority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said this Thursday evening on Fox News: "There is no way the president will be removed. " The Republican official did not rule out Tuesday that such a trial could be shortened, without any witness being heard.
His indictment in Congress will nevertheless tarnish Donald Trump's record and tarnish his re-election campaign. Before him, only two American presidents, Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998, experienced such an ordeal. Implicated in the Watergate political espionage scandal, Republican Richard Nixon had resigned in 1974 to avoid this impeachment.
The impact of this procedure on public opinion is uncertain, the Americans appearing divided: 47.3% are for and 45.9% against, according to the average of polls established by the site. fivethirtyeight.
