Live: US election – Donald Trump on verge of second impeachment after Capitol riot
The US House of Representatives has begun a debate on impeaching President Donald Trump over his role in last week’s storming of Congress.
Democrats accuse the president of encouraging his supporters to attack the Capitol building, where five people died.
Some in Trump’s Republican party say they will join Democrats to impeach him, formally charging the president with inciting insurrection.
President Trump has rejected any responsibility for the violence.
The riot last Wednesday (Thursday NZ time) happened after Trump told supporters at a rally in Washington DC to “fight like hell” against the result of November’s election.
Follow the latest updates here:
Impeachment: The basics
- What is impeachment? Impeachment is when a sitting president is charged with crimes. In this case, President Trump is accused of inciting insurrection by encouraging his supporters to storm the Capitol
- Could Trump be removed from office? A simple majority of the House of Representatives is enough to impeach him – but to remove him from office, he then needs to be convicted of those charges by the Senate, where a two-thirds majority is not guaranteed
- So what does it mean? This is the second time Trump will have been impeached, and even though a trial could begin after his term ends, a conviction could mean he is barred from holding public office again
– BBC
