US ‘Democrats’ launch impeachment inquiry into Donald Trump

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives plunge into a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump on Wednesday, BBC has reported.

Top Democrat Nancy Pelosi said the president "must be held accountable".

In a statement on Tuesday she said Trump had betrayed his oath of office and committed "a violation of the law". She called his actions "a breach of his constitutional responsibilities".

"This week the president has admitted to asking the president of Ukraine to take action that would benefit him politically," she said, adding: "The president must be held accountable. No-one is above the law."

In a series of tweets President Trump said Democrats "purposely had to ruin and demean" his trip to the UN in New York "with more breaking news Witch Hunt garbage". "They never even saw the transcript of the call. A total Witch Hunt!" he added.

The high-stakes move by House Speaker Pelosi, prompted by allegations that Donald Trump pressured the Ukrainian president to investigate his leading political rival Joe Biden.

If the inquiry moves forward the House of Representatives will vote on any charges and, with the Democrats in the majority, the vote would likely be carried. But the proceedings would likely then stall in the Senate, where the president's Republican Party holds enough seats to prevent him from being removed from office by a two-thirds majority.