Democrats will hit Trump with 2 articles of impeachment, reports say: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress

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  • House Democrats plan to slap US President Donald Trump with two articles of impeachment on Tuesday, according to multiple reports in the US media.

  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will hold a press conference at 9 a.m. ET announcing the articles as obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, according to The Hill, The Washington Post, and CNN.

  • A third article is still under consideration, the outlets said. It is expected to relate to obstruction of justice.

  • Any articles of impeachment passed by the House Judiciary Committee would go to a vote on the full floor of the House and require a simple majority vote to pass.

  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

House Democrats are reportedly preparing to hit US President Donald Trump with two articles of impeachment: obstruction of Congress and abuse of power.

The news will be announced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi at 9 a.m. ET Tuesday, The Hill reported Monday night, citing two sources familiar with impeachment proceedings, including an unnamed senior Democratic Party aide.

The Washington Post, CNN, and NBC also reported the news, adding that a third article of impeachment was still under consideration.

In this Dec. 6, 2019, photo, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., discusses her recent visit to the UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain, at the Capitol in Washington. Washington's impeachment drama is dominating the news, but key figures on Capitol Hill such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also have their day jobs to do. The California Democrat faces a testing time over the next two weeks, toggling between impeachment and ripe legislative issues such as trade, a government-wide funding bill, and the annual defense policy bill. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Associated Press

The subject of the third article is likely to be obstruction of justice.

The special counsel's report into 2016 Russian election interference laid out 11 instances in which Trump appeared to have obstructed justice but did not make a prosecutorial judgment as to whether he had.

Trump has refused to participate in the impeachment inquiry, which has centered on his dealings with Ukraine.

Pelosi met with House committee leaders including Adam Schiff, the head of the Intelligence Committee, and Jerry Nadler, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, on Monday.

Her office late Monday night said she planned to "announce the next steps in the House impeachment inquiry" on Tuesday but did not elaborate, NBC News said.

On Wednesday, three legal experts called by Democrats to testify to the House Judiciary Committee said Trump abused his power and should be impeached. A fourth expert, called by Republicans, took issue with Trump's conduct but said he had not yet seen sufficient evidence for impeachment.

The experts who supported impeachment said Trump should face articles of abuse of power and bribery, obstruction of justice, and obstruction of Congress.

What happens next?

Any articles of impeachment passed by the House Judiciary Committee would go to a vote on the full floor of the House and require a simple majority vote to pass.

Members vote on each article individually, meaning Trump could be impeached on some articles but not others.

For Trump to be removed from office, two-thirds of the US Senate — 67 members — must vote to convict him of articles of impeachment.

The Senate consists of 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and two independents who caucus with Democrats. That makes his removal from office unlikely.

If Trump is not impeached or is impeached but not convicted in the Senate, he would stay in office and face reelection in 2020.

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