First Trump Impeachment: House Charges Abuse of Power and Obstruction of Congress Over Ukraine Scheme

Details

On December 18, 2019, the House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump for the first time on two articles: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump would be impeached again on January 13, 2021, following the January 6 Capitol attack, making him the only president in American history to be impeached twice.

The first impeachment followed an inquiry that found Trump had withheld $391 million in congressionally approved military aid to Ukraine and a White House meeting while pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to announce investigations into political rival Joe Biden and a debunked conspiracy theory about 2016 election interference. Trump became the third president in American history to be impeached and the first to be impeached without any support from his own party. The Senate acquitted Trump on February 5, 2020, with Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) becoming the first senator in history to vote to convict a president of his own party.

The Whistleblower Complaint

The scandal came to public attention following a whistleblower complaint filed on August 12, 2019 by a CIA officer detailed to the White House. The complaint was submitted to Michael Atkinson, Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, who determined it was both "credible" and an "urgent concern."

The whistleblower alleged that during a July 25, 2019 phone call with President Zelenskyy, Trump "sought to pressure the Ukrainian leader to take actions to help the President's 2020 reelection bid." The complaint cited "more than half a dozen officials" who provided accounts of the call and expressed concern about potential abuse of power.

The complaint also alleged that White House officials intervened to "lock down" records of the call by moving the transcript to a highly classified computer system typically reserved for codeword-level intelligence, rather than the standard system for presidential communications.

The July 25, 2019 Phone Call

On September 25, 2019, facing significant public pressure, the White House released a memorandum summarizing the July 25 call between Trump and Zelenskyy. The document was labeled "not a verbatim transcript" but rather a summary based on "notes and recollections of Situation Room Duty Officers."

The call record showed that after Zelenskyy expressed appreciation for U.S. military assistance and mentioned Ukraine's interest in purchasing more Javelin anti-tank missiles, Trump responded: "I would like you to do us a favor though."

Trump made two requests during the call. First, he asked Zelenskyy to investigate a debunked conspiracy theory suggesting Ukraine, not Russia, had interfered in the 2016 U.S. election, mentioning the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Second, Trump asked Zelenskyy to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden, who had served on the board of Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings.

Trump told Zelenskyy: "There's a lot of talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that, so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great."

Later testimony revealed that some words and phrases were deliberately omitted from the memorandum, including Trump asking about recordings of Biden and Zelenskyy mentioning Burisma Holdings by name.

The Pressure Campaign

The House investigation uncovered a months-long effort to pressure Ukraine involving multiple officials. According to the House Intelligence Committee report:

Key participants included:
- Rudy Giuliani: Trump's personal attorney, who pressed Ukrainian officials to pursue investigations and coordinated with U.S. diplomats on messaging
- Gordon Sondland: U.S. Ambassador to the EU, who testified he worked with Giuliani at Trump's "express direction" to arrange a quid pro quo
- Mick Mulvaney: Acting White House Chief of Staff, who publicly acknowledged the aid was withheld partly due to concerns about "corruption related to the DNC server"
- The "Three Amigos": Sondland, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, and Special Envoy Kurt Volker, who managed the Ukraine relationship

Ambassador Bill Taylor, the top U.S. diplomat in Ukraine, testified that he was told both the military aid and a White House meeting were conditional on Zelenskyy publicly announcing the investigations.

Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, the NSC's Ukraine specialist who listened to the July 25 call, testified the call troubled him and he immediately reported his concerns to NSC lawyers.

Withholding of Military Aid

The Trump administration suspended $391 million in congressionally appropriated security assistance to Ukraine beginning in July 2019, without providing Congress the required notification. The aid was released on September 11, 2019, after the whistleblower complaint had been filed and Congressional investigations began.

On January 16, 2020, the Government Accountability Office issued a legal opinion concluding that the Office of Management and Budget violated the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 by withholding the funds.

"Faithful execution of the law does not permit the President to substitute his own policy priorities for those that Congress has enacted into law," the GAO wrote. "OMB withheld funds for a policy reason, which is not permitted under the Impoundment Control Act. The withholding was not a programmatic delay. Therefore, we conclude that OMB violated the ICA."

The Impeachment Inquiry

On September 24, 2019, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced a formal impeachment inquiry, stating: "The President must be held accountable. No one is above the law."

The House Intelligence Committee, in coordination with the Committees on Oversight and Reform and Foreign Affairs, conducted the investigation. Over 17 witnesses provided testimony in more than 100 hours of depositions, and seven public hearings were held with 12 witnesses.

Key witnesses included Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch, who testified about being recalled from her post in Kyiv after a smear campaign by Giuliani; Fiona Hill, the former NSC senior director for Europe and Russia, who warned that Republicans were promoting a "fictional narrative" about Ukrainian election interference that originated with Russian intelligence; and Ambassador Sondland, who confirmed there was a quid pro quo linking the White House meeting and investigations.

The White House refused to produce any documents in response to subpoenas and directed current and former officials not to testify, forming the basis of the obstruction of Congress article.

Articles of Impeachment

On December 10, 2019, the House Judiciary Committee announced two articles of impeachment:

Article I: Abuse of Power charged that Trump "solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election" by conditioning official acts—military aid and a White House meeting—on Ukraine's announcement of investigations that would benefit his reelection.

Article II: Obstruction of Congress charged that Trump "directed the unprecedented, categorical, and indiscriminate defiance of subpoenas issued by the House of Representatives pursuant to its 'sole Power of Impeachment,'" blocking witnesses and withholding documents in a manner unprecedented in American history.

The Judiciary Committee voted 23-17 along party lines on December 13 to adopt the articles.

The House Vote

On December 18, 2019, the full House voted to impeach President Trump:

• Abuse of Power: 230-197 (one present vote)
• Obstruction of Congress: 229-198 (one present vote)

No Republicans voted for either article. Two Democrats—Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey and Collin Peterson of Minnesota—voted against both articles. Representative Jared Golden (D-ME) voted yes on abuse of power and no on obstruction. Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) voted "present" on both articles, saying she "could not in good conscience vote against impeachment" but also could not vote for it given the partisan nature of the proceedings.

Trump became the third president impeached by the House, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1998.

The Senate Trial

The Senate trial began on January 16, 2020, and concluded on February 5, 2020. Chief Justice John Roberts presided. The Republican majority voted 51-49 to reject Democratic motions to subpoena additional witnesses and documents.

On February 5, 2020, the Senate voted to acquit Trump on both articles:

• Abuse of Power: 48-52 (not guilty)
• Obstruction of Congress: 47-53 (not guilty)

Conviction required a two-thirds majority (67 votes).

Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) became the first senator in American history to vote to convict a president of his own party, voting guilty on the abuse of power charge. Romney explained: "Corrupting an election to keep oneself in office is perhaps the most abusive and destructive violation of one's oath of office that I can imagine." He voted not guilty on obstruction of Congress.

All 45 Democrats and both independents (Bernie Sanders and Angus King) voted to convict on both articles.

Retaliation Against Witnesses

Two days after the acquittal, Trump removed two key witnesses who had testified in the impeachment inquiry:

• Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman was escorted from the White House and dismissed from his NSC position. His twin brother Yevgeny, also an Army lieutenant colonel on the NSC, was simultaneously dismissed.
• Ambassador Gordon Sondland had his ambassadorship terminated.

Vindman's attorney stated his client "was asked to leave for telling the truth. His honor, his commitment to right, frightened the powerful."

In April 2020, Trump fired Michael Atkinson, the Inspector General of the Intelligence Community who had transmitted the whistleblower complaint to Congress.

Public Opinion

Public opinion on impeachment and removal remained deeply divided along partisan lines:

• A USA Today/Suffolk University poll in December 2019 found 45% supported impeachment and removal while 51% opposed.
• During the inquiry, Americans were sharply split, with Democrats largely supporting removal, Republicans largely opposing, and independents divided.

Historical Significance

The first impeachment of Donald Trump was notable for several reasons:

• First impeachment without bipartisan support: No members of Trump's party voted for impeachment in the House.
• First conviction vote from president's own party: Senator Romney's vote to convict was unprecedented in American history.
• Comprehensive obstruction: The Trump administration's refusal to provide any documents or allow most witnesses to testify represented the most complete defiance of an impeachment inquiry in American history.
• GAO finding: A nonpartisan government watchdog concluded the administration broke federal law by withholding the Ukraine aid.

Trump remained in office and sought reelection in 2020.