  Impeachment against Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump was cleared of all charges in the impeachment proceedings on Wednesday. Of the Republicans, only Senator Mitt Romney voted against acquitting Trump of charges of abuse of power. Commentators are at odds over who is responsible for the failed impeachment and what it means for US politics.

US President Donald Trump vaunted his own track record in his State of the Union address. He had several reasons to celebrate: the primaries for the US presidential election began with a vote-counting debacle for the Democrats, and he was acquitted in the impeachment proceedings against him. What can the Democrats do to gain ground, apart from tearing up the manuscript of Trump's speech?

The US Senate on Friday voted against the questioning of witnesses in impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump by 51 to 49. As a result, the testimony of former security advisor John Bolton will not be heard. The US president is expected to be acquitted on Wednesday of charges of abuse of power and obstructing investigations. Commentators explain what the early end of the proceedings means.

Europe's press is ambivalent about the impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump recently passed by the US House of Representatives. The US president has said he wants to face the impeachment trial, which will decide whether he is removed from office on charges of abuse of power and obstructing justice, as soon as possible.

The Democrats have presented the charges necessary for impeachment: President Trump must answer for abuse of power and obstruction of Parliament's investigation. He is said to have urged Ukraine to investigate Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son. Commentators doubt the chances of success of an impeachment.

After the publication of the protocol of the incriminating phone conversation between US President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the two leaders have come under fire in their countries. Commentators examine the repercussions on bilateral and international relations from various standpoints.

The US Democrats have taken the first steps towards impeaching Donald Trump. The background is a telephone call in which Trump reportedly asked Ukrainian President Voldymyr Zelensky to pursue an investigation against the son of presidential hopeful Joe Biden, who is a member of the board of a Ukrainian gas company. Commentators discuss who stands to gain more from the proceedings.

US President Donald Trump reportedly pressed his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky in a phone call to launch an investigation against the son of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Trump apparently promised Zelensky something in return, but it is not known what. Commentator discuss the consequences of the affair for Biden and Zelensky.

Donald Trump is saying that Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report has exonerated him. It came to the conclusion that there was no criminal collusion between Trump or his election campaign team and Russian agencies. But the report is less clear on the question of whether the president obstructed justice. Journalists examine the consequences for the US election campaign and politics in Moscow.

Although government business remains practically at a standstill due to the shutdown, both chambers of the US Congress convened today, Thursday, for the first time in their new configuration. The Democrats now control the House of Representatives while Trump's Republicans still hold a majority in the Senate. Commentators explain their theories about how the Democrats should wield their newly acquired power.

Pressure on US President Donald Trump is mounting in the scandal over alleged ties between Russia and Trump's campaign team. The Department of Justice has placed the investigations into the affair in the hands of former FBI chief Robert Mueller, who is considered to be non-partisan. This shows that the institutions' checks and balances are still functioning, some commentators conclude. For others, the last thing the US needs is Trump's impeachment.