Trump's attempt to talk his way out of impeachment backfired spectacularly

Donald Trump has tried to overcome the last threat to his presidency by releasing a transcript of his conversation with the President of Ukraine. This is a trick that has worked for him before, allowing him to seek impeachment and launch an attack on Democrats.

Yet this time the gambit had the opposite effect. Trump did not expect that even in the absence of an explicit quid pro quo, his transactional foreign policy approach and willingness to seek political help from another country - dressed in a five-page transcript - would inspire his critics and ignite the flames of nascent impeachment investigation.

The president maintains the supreme conviction that he can get out of any bad situation with a fairy tale. But his own words in the census provided an easy roadmap for Democrats accusing him of abusing his office. In the conversation, Trump repeatedly called on Ukraine's Vladimir Zelensky, whose country is heavily dependent on US aid, to help defame former Vice President Joe Biden, who was a clear Democratic leader at the time.

The imminent battle is now headed to the House, where the acting National Intelligence Director will appear before a committee at 9:00 a.m. Thursday to discuss the complaint filed by an unidentified person.

A majority in the US House of Representatives will support impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, according to Washington Post and Politico, citing analysis.

As of Wednesday night, 218 congressmen had declared support for the procedure - 217 Democrats and Independent Congressman Justin Amos.

218 congressmen have the necessary threshold to pass bills in the 435-seat House. Democrats hold 235 seats in the lower house.

In the last two days, 78 Democrats have announced they want to start an impeachment procedure in the lower house. Before news broke that a intelligence officer had signaled Trump's misconduct last week, a total of 95 congressmen supported the president's actions.

However, there are no guarantees that all 218 congressmen will vote to remove Trump. Of those, only 25 say they will vote immediately.

Democrats are unlikely to succeed in the Senate, where 2/3 are needed.

In order to reach the Senate, the decision must first go through the Committee on Legal Affairs in the House of Representatives, then in the Senate, and finally the Attorney General must take the role of judge and decide.

Source: Bloomberg Finance L.P.

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