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(CNN) - The House of Representatives, deeply divided, took a historic step to accuse President Donald Trump on Wednesday, accusing a president of crimes and misdemeanors for the third time in US history.
The Chamber voted almost entirely along the lines of the party on two charges of impeachment to put the president on trial: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and thus send the case to the Senate for a impeachment trial that will begin the next month.
- Minute by minute: Trump, on political trial
The political trial votes marked the culmination of an extensive three-month Democratic investigation that was moving rapidly over accusations that the president pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals while retaining US security assistance.
The House voted 230-197 to accuse Trump of abuse of power and 229-198 to accuse him of obstruction of Congress. The votes were largely divided according to the parties: only two Democrats voted against both positions, representatives Collin Peterson of Minnesota and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, who are expected to soon change parties. A third, the representative Jared Golden of Maine, voted for one of the charges. Democratic representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, voted present (equivalent to abstention) on both charges.
The independent representative turned Republican Justin Amash of Michigan voted to accuse Trump in both cases.
Trump's political trial, which occurs 85 days after House of Representatives president Nancy Pelosi announced the opening of the investigation, will have lasting ramifications throughout Washington and beyond. Undoubtedly, it will shape the legacy of the key players in the midst of this, from Pelosi and the presidents of the commissions that led the political trial proceedings, to Trump and his strongest defenders in Congress.
It is a scenario that seemed unlikely only a few months ago for Pelosi, who had resisted the impulse of Trump's impeachment of liberal defenders both inside his bench and outside the Capitol. But then, an anonymous complaint by a whistleblower changed the course of history for both Trump and his main antagonist at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
Political trial Political trial of Donald Trump