[국제]US President Trump’s impeachment proceedings begin in earnest… is there any possibility of impeachment?

[앵커]

The Democratic Party of the United States has launched an impeachment proceeding in earnest, claiming President Donald Trump’s responsibility to incite civil war.

President Trump, who has only nine days left in office, is likely to face the dishonor of being the first president to pass two impeachment bills in the House of Representatives while in office.

We will connect reporters to learn more. Reporter Yeojin Lee!

Trump’s term of office is less than 10 days left.

The US House of Representatives proposed impeachment as announced?

[기자]

Some Republican lawmakers have also added to Trump’s accusations, and the proposal for impeachment came in a flash.

The reason for the impeachment proceeding against President Trump is the allegation of “inciting civil war.”

Right before the protesters’ intrusion into the Capitol, President Trump spoke in front of the protesters, promoting lawlessness.

Let’s watch the video at that time together.

[도널드 트럼프 / 미국 대통령 (지난 6일) : 우리 싸웁시다. 맹렬히 싸웁시다. 만약 여러분이 맹렬히 싸우지 않는다면, 더는 나라를 갖지 못할 것입니다.]

Prior to this, President Trump on New Year’s Day tweeted, “There will be a big protest in Washington, DC on January 6th at 11am. Stop ticket thieves!” I posted an article.

[앵커]

This is not the first time to propose an impeachment proposal against President Trump, right?

[기자]

President Trump faced impeachment again 13 months after he was impeached in the House of Representatives in the December 2019 Ukrainian scandal.

The Ukrainian scandal is alleged that when Trump spoke with the Ukrainian president in July 2019, in exchange for US$400 million in Ukrainian military aid, he pressured the investigation of corruption by the current Democratic president-elect Joe Biden, then the leading Democratic party.

The Democratic-majority House of Representatives passed in December of the same year on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of parliament, but in February 2020, the Senate vote was rejected against the majority of Republicans.

If the bill of impeachment is passed by a majority vote of the House of Representatives, it will be the first president in the history of the United States to pass an impeachment bill twice.

[앵커]

But in the history of the United States, has there really been an impeached president?

[기자]

Eleven out of 45 previous presidents faced impeachment while in office, but no president was actually impeached.

Most were voted down or were rejected at the House stage, and two more were rejected by the Senate after a prosecution was passed in the House, like President Trump.

Former President Bill Clinton is the case.

The House passed it over to the Senate on charges of perjury and obstruction related to sexual scandals, but it was rejected.

In 1868, former President Andrew Johnson was on the verge of being impeached for violating the Office of the Office, but was rejected by a single vote in the Senate and held his place

Former President Nixon, known for his “Watergate Scandal,” resigned himself from his presidency just before the House vote for impeachment.

[앵커]

If President Trump is impeached, he will be the first president in US history. How likely is it?

[기자]

I think it’s okay to pass the House.

More than half of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, or 218, should approve, and the Democratic Party seats 222.

After passing the House of Representatives, the Senate will be convicted of guilt or innocence.

67 people, two-thirds of the senators, should agree.

Since 50 of the 100 senators are Republicans, at least 17 of the Republicans must approve.

Because of this, the local media predicts that it is not realistically easy to get President Trump out of office before the end of his term.

[앵커]

The Democratic Party wouldn’t know about that situation.

Is there any reason to pursue impeachment when the presidential term is shortly left?

[기자]

It has a symbolic meaning.

First of all, it can be disgraced as the’President who has passed two impeachment bills in the House of Representatives’.

And if a conviction is passed in the Senate, it can be done so that President Trump will never run for office again.

That would prevent President Trump from running for president in 2024.

This could be a reason for the Republican senators seeking the next presidential power to agree to the impeachment.

[앵커]

However, as long as the term remains short, impeachment may occur after retirement. Is this possible?

[기자]

There have been cases where high-ranking officials were impeached after retirement due to US constitutional history, but the president has never been there.

Some scholars have suggested that impeachment is possible even after retirement.

He explained that the intent of the law was that retirement should not be a reason not to deal with the president’s crimes.

[앵커]

However, not only impeachment, but also the invocation of Article 25 of the Amendment is an issue now.

How is that going?

[기자]

Yes, the Democratic Party also initiated a resolution urging Vice President Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment to dismiss President Trump.

Article 25 of the Amendment is a regulation that requires the Vice President to act on behalf of the President after removing the President from his or her duties by majority vote of the Vice President and the Cabinet when it is determined that the President cannot perform his/her duties.

If the President rejects it, the Senate and House of Representatives can force dismissal with a two-thirds vote each.

In fact, however, this rule is usually based on poor health or the like.

For this reason, Vice President Pence is known to be in a negative position, and the Republican Party is also in a situation where opposition is high.

The resolution is expected to be put on a plenary vote on the 12th local time.

Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has called for Vice President Pence to respond within 24 hours if the Article 25 resolution is passed.

If the Pence and the Cabinet do not invoke Article 25, they made it clear that they would handle the impeachment prosecution.

This is YTN Lee Yeo-jin.