More details from the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump are revealed daily. Here are some of the basics. According to The New York Times’ Ukraine Timeline, on July 25, President Trump made a call to Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, during which he requested Ukrainian aid in investigating Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, related to a trip they made to Ukraine during the Obama-era. There are questions about deals Hunter Biden made with a natural gas company and whether or not Biden’s influence as VP was used to secure any financial transactions. No evidence has been produced as of this time, according to NPR. 

This came about a week after the president withheld 400 million dollars of aid to Ukraine, in one estimate from Defense News. A complaint filed by an unknown whistleblower, defined as a person who reveals secretive information considered unethical, said that Trump had abused presidential authority, which sparked the investigation.  

A transcript of the phone call and the whistleblower report is available from The New York Times. 

The case has since developed in a variety of ways. Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Speaker, opened up the case for impeachment. Several subpoenas have been issued to departments of the executive branch in order to investigate the whole story. President Trump has both admitted to requesting aid from Ukraine as well as publicly asking China for an investigation into Joe and Hunter Biden. 

Many people involved in the case have been questioned by the House Intelligence committee. Every day, new facts and testimonies reveal more information, so the case is constantly changing. According to Fox Carolina, a second whistleblower report related to Ukraine was filed on Oct. 6.  

The White House stands firm on its refusal to cooperate with the investigation, sparking a battle over the Constitution and raising questions about the impeachment process. 

Dr. David Alvis, associate professor of government and international affairs, commented on the process of examining the whistleblower complaint: “In the first place, it’s a political process, not a criminal trial.”  

Alvis described the impeachment process in a number of steps. First, he said, the investigation starts with a Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives. Then, if sufficient cause for impeachment is found, the Judiciary Committee takes the allegations, or Articles of Impeachment, to the House floor for a vote. A majority vote is required to move the case to the Senate. At this point, the President is impeached. After the case goes to the Senate, the House members become managers of the trial and the Senate members vote on the action to take.  

 “They have two options. They can either remove the president from office, or they can bar him from political office in the future,” Alvis said. “Neither has ever been done before to a sitting President.”  

The original standards for impeachment were ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’ committed by someone in political office.  

In this instance, the main question the Judiciary Committee is asking is, “Did the president betray the trust of the American people or abuse his power?”  

Alvis continued, “After Nixon, they developed some standards for impeachable offenses. They’re about as vague as the original constitution.” These offenses, he said, are constituted by “An abuse of power by either exceeding the power of the executive or by using the office for personal gain.” He added, “but those standards are supposed to be vague. It’s up to Congress to decide. And they have to be the ones accountable for the decision, whatever it is.” 

“The reason impeachment is such a threat is the intensity of the partisanship. In some ways it’s just a feature of divided government after Reagan,” Alvis said. According to CNN Politics, every president since Ronald Reagan has been threatened with impeachment.  

“It means no matter how small the issue is, it’s impeachable. And no matter how great the issue is, the other side says it’s not an offense. There are no grounds for deliberation.” Alvis said that this is why we count on checks and balances.  

When asked how he thought impeachment would affect the upcoming election, Alvis said, “I don’t know. It could cut both ways. At the end of the day, an impeachment is a political trial, and it all depends on how it resonates with voters.” 

Written by Donner Rizzo-Banks