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(CNN) - President Donald Trump could become the third president in US history to face a political trial. How did we get here and what's next?
For this Tuesday the Rules Commission of the US House of Representatives will meet to set the parameters for a debate on the charges of political trial. It comes after the House Judicial Commission approved two charges of political trial against President Trump last week.
LOOK: Report of charges in political trial against Donald Trump published
What happens next?
The House of Representatives will vote the charges this week. If the House approves Trump's political trial, the Senate will conduct a trial to consider whether the president should be removed from office.
This has been the steps of the political trial:
July 12, 2017: A resolution is filed to accuse Trump of obstruction of justice in connection with the investigation of Russian electoral interference.
November 15, 2017: Democratic representative Steve Cohen files five charges of political trial against Trump.
October 11, 2017: Democratic representative Al Green files charges of political trial against Trump but does not force a vote. On December 6, the Chamber votes to present the resolution.
September 24, 2019: the president of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, announces a formal investigation of political trial on Trump.
LOOK: This is what you can expect in the process of political trial against Trump
October 31, 2019: The House of Representatives approves a resolution to formalize the procedures of the political trial investigation against Trump.
November 13, 2019: the first public hearings of the investigation take place.
December 10, 2019: Democratic leaders of the House of Representatives announce that they will present two charges of political trial against Trump, accusing him of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.
December 13, 2019: The Judicial Commission of the House of Representatives approves the two articles of political judgment in a party line vote, setting the stage for a vote on the floor of the House.
The process of a political trial in the US
A political trial is a process that determines whether a public official is guilty of abuse of power or other crimes. A conviction leads to dismissal.
Article I of the Constitution grants the House of Representatives the "sole power of political judgment."
Offenses that could cause dismissal are treason, bribery or "other crimes and misdemeanors."
The inclusion of “other serious crimes and misdemeanors” gives the legislative branch flexibility to investigate a series of accusations.
A president is not accused until the Chamber of Deputies votes in favor to approve the charges of political trial.
A charge of political trial is written for each alleged crime.
In the House, if a simple majority votes in favor of the political trial, the president of the Supreme Court presides over a trial in the Senate. A two-thirds majority is required to convict and remove a president from office.
The Founding Fathers modeled the dismissal clause according to a system in Britain that gives Parliament the authority to investigate royal advisors and other senior officials.
Countries around the world have different processes
impeachment political judgment