After public hearings in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump took place in November, Wednesday will see the House of Representatives take the next step in formally voting on whether to impeach the president, potentially marking the third time in US history a commander-in-chief would be impeached.
At issue is whether Trump should be removed from office for his conduct in dealings with Ukraine. That includes a phone call in July in which he appears to have asked the president of Ukraine to investigate former US Vice President Joe Biden, currently a Democratic presidential candidate, and his son Hunter’s ties to a Ukrainian gas company, in exchange for US military aid.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened a formal impeachment inquiry in September. She’s since accused the president of bribery. Trump has called the inquiry a “hoax.” A vote on impeachment by the House is expected Wednesday evening, and full coverage of the impeachment hearings can be found here.
Here’s how you can follow along.
Public impeachment hearings concerning US President Donald Trump’s conduct in dealings with Ukraine are in full swing.
Noam Galai/Getty Images
How can I watch?
Various news networks and outlets will livestream the day’s events. A number of broadcasters, including CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS, as well as cable news channels Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and CSPAN have been preempting regular programming to offer live broadcasts of the House debating the articles of impeachment. (Disclosure: CNET is a division of CBS Interactive, which is owned by CBS.)
You can stream the hearing for free online at sites such as CBS News. That livestream is embedded above.
What time does everything start?
The debate in the House kicked off Wednesday morning. A vote is expected to take place Wednesday evening, but no formal time has been set as of press time.
Who else has been impeached?
If impeached, Trump would join Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton as the only other presidents to be impeached by the House since the Constitution was adopted in 1788.
Richard Nixon resigned before the House had a chance to impeach him for his role in the Watergate scandal.
What does Trump have to say?
In a six-page letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday, Trump blasted the proceedings and said that “more due process was afforded to those accused in the Salem Witch Trials.”
“It is time for you and the highly partisan Democrats in Congress to immediately cease this impeachment fantasy and get back to work for the American People,” the president wrote. “While I have no expectation that you will do so, I write this letter to you for the purpose of history and to put my thoughts on a permanent and indelible record.”
What happens next if Trump is impeached by the House?
If the House, as expected, votes to impeach Trump, a trial will then take place in the Senate. The Senate has designated the month of January for a possible trial, but additional details on what such a trial would look like aren’t yet known.
Both Clinton and Johnson were acquitted by the Senate in their respective impeachment trials.
Where can I learn more about impeachment?
CBS News has full coverage of the impeachment process, inquiry and proceedings.
Originally published Nov. 12.
Update, Dec. 18: Adds information on impeachment vote in the House of Representatives.
Correction, Nov. 14: An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Joe Biden. He’s a Democratic presidential candidate.