The House on Wednesday voted to send the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate.
The vote fell almost entirely along party lines, approving both the release of the articles to the Senate and the establishment of funding mechanisms for the impeachment process. All Republican Representatives voted against the resolution, while all Democrats except for Colin Peterson of Minnesota voted in favor.
Earlier on Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) announced seven impeachment managers for the upcoming Senate trial, who will function essentially as prosecutors presenting House’s case. The lead manager will be Adam Schiff (D., Calif.), chairman of the Intelligence Committee and a major player in the House’s impeachment inquiry.
President Trump has already appointed his defense team for the trial, which includes White House counsel Pat Cipillone and Trump’s personal attorney Jay Sekulow. Sekulow has been handling various court cases involving the release of Trump’s financial records, which will be considered in the upcoming months by the Supreme Court.
Trump faces two articles of impeachment, one for obstruction of Congress and the other for abuse of power. Democrats charge that Trump improperly withheld military aid from Ukraine to pressure the country to conduct investigations that would damage political rival Joe Biden. The President has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, calling the impeachment inquiry a “witch hunt” and a “hoax.”
“President Trump has done nothing wrong,” read a statement from the White House released after Pelosi named impeachment managers. “He looks forward to having the due process rights in the Senate that Speaker Pelosi and House Democrats denied to him, and expects to be fully exonerated.