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'Sad day' or a 'scam'? Trump impeachment hearing to begin

Impeachment reality TV

House Democrats are giving President Donald Trump a reality show for the ages as they take their case public for his impeachment.

But the proceedings are much more than showbiz, with lawmakers considering the use of a grave and seldom-employed power spelled out in the Constitution.

With the bang of a gavel, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff will open the impeachment hearings Wednesday into Trump's pressure on Ukraine to investigate Democratic rival Joe Biden's family. Big questions loom, including how strongly officials connected what Trump called that "favour" to U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Impeachable offences? Worthy of Trump's removal? And, critically, will a pair of diplomats and their accounts nudge more Americans behind impeaching the nation's 45th president?

"It's a sad day, which I wish we never had to face," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said late Tuesday.

"A total impeachment scam," tweeted Trump.

Americans and the world get to see for themselves beginning at 10 a.m.

Shortly after Schiff's gavel, he and ranking Republican Devin Nunes will begin the questioning. They get 45 minutes each, or can designate staff attorneys to do so.

Members of the panel will then get five minutes each to ask questions, alternating between Republicans and Democrats.

It's only the fourth time in American history that Congress has launched impeachment proceedings against a sitting president. Two of those — against Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton 130 years later— resulted in their impeachments, or formal charges approved by the House. Both were acquitted by the Senate.

Former President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 before the House could vote to impeach him.



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