First impeachment of Donald Trump
The first impeachment of President Donald Trump occurred on December 18, 2019. On that date, the House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles of impeachment.
| First impeachment of Donald Trump | |
|---|---|
Members of House of Representatives vote on two articles of impeachment | |
| Accused | Donald Trump, 45th President of the United States |
| Proponents |
|
| Date | December 18, 2019 – February 5, 2020 (1 month, 2 weeks and 4 days) |
| Outcome | Acquitted by the U.S. Senate, remained in the office of President of the United States |
| Charges | Abuse of power, obstruction of Congress |
| Cause | Allegations that Trump unlawfully solicited Ukrainian authorities to influence the 2020 U.S. presidential election |
| Congressional votes | |
| Voting in the U.S. House of Representatives | |
| Accusation | Abuse of power |
| Votes in favor | 230 |
| Votes against | 197 |
| Present | 1 |
| Not voting | 3 |
| Result | Approved |
| Accusation | Obstruction of Congress |
| Votes in favor | 229 |
| Votes against | 198 |
| Present | 1 |
| Not voting | 3 |
| Result | Approved |
| Voting in the U.S. Senate | |
| Accusation | Article I – Abuse of power |
| Votes in favor | 48 "guilty" |
| Votes against | 52 "not guilty" |
| Result | Acquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction) |
| Accusation | Article II – Obstruction of Congress |
| Votes in favor | 47 "guilty" |
| Votes against | 53 "not guilty" |
| Result | Acquitted (67 "guilty" votes necessary for a conviction) |
| Trump–Ukraine scandal |
|---|
| Events |
| People |
| Companies |
| Conspiracy theories |
Trump's first impeachment took place after a formal House inquiry found that he had solicited foreign interference in the 2020 U.S. presidential election to help his re-election bid, and had then obstructed the inquiry itself by telling his administration officials to ignore subpoenas for documents and testimony. The inquiry reported that Trump withheld military aid and an invitation to the White House from Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in order to influence Ukraine to announce an investigation into Trump's political opponent Joe Biden, and to promote a discredited conspiracy theory that Ukraine–not Russia–was behind interference in the 2016 presidential election. The inquiry stage of Trump's impeachment lasted from September to November 2019 in the wake of an August whistleblower complaint alleging Trump's abuse of power. A set of impeachment hearings before the House Judiciary Committee began on December 4, 2019; on December 13, the committee voted 23–17 (along party lines) to recommend articles of impeachment for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Two days later, the full House approved both articles in a mostly party-line vote. Trump is the third U.S. president in history to be impeached and the first to be impeached without support for the impeachment from his own party.
The articles of impeachment were submitted to the Senate on January 16, 2020, initiating an impeachment trial. The trial saw no witnesses or documents being subpoenaed, as Republican senators rejected attempts to introduce subpoenas. On February 5, Trump was acquitted on both counts by the Senate, as neither count received 67 votes to convict.
Trump remained in office for the remainder of his term. However, he was impeached for a second time in 2021 following the January 6 United States Capitol attack, making him the first U.S. president in history to be impeached twice. Trump was again acquitted by the Senate in February 2021 after he had left office.