https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/will-trump-really-be-impeached
That, in a nutshell, is the mess we are looking at. Only one thing is certain: The coming political battle over impeachment is going to be nasty, bitter and acrimonious, tearing America apart.
CONSEQUENCES OF IMPEACHMENT
Robert J. Fouser The Korea Herald, South Korea
The Korean expression "what was bound to come has arrived" best describes the current political situation in the US. It was only a matter of time before the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives moved to impeach President Donald Trump.
Evidence that Mr Trump appeared to be pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Mr Hunter Biden, the son of former US vice-president Joe Biden, caused the dam in favour of impeachment to burst. Mr Biden has long been considered the strongest Democrat to take on Mr Trump (in the presidential election next year).
A headcount in the House of Representatives shows 225 of them favour a formal impeachment inquiry. A simple majority of 218 is required to impeach.
If the House of Representatives impeaches Mr Trump, then he would face a trial in the Senate where the support of 67 of the 100 senators would be required to remove the President.
The Republicans have a majority of 53 in the Senate, which means that 20 Republicans would have to break ranks and support impeachment. At present, only a few appear to be open to the idea.
In the past, three US presidents had faced the possibility of impeachment, but no one was removed from office. With Mr Trump, anything is possible, but history suggests that his removal by the Senate is unlikely.
The Democrats know this but are moving forward because history suggests that the impeaching party benefits. Most Democrats believe firmly that impeaching Mr Trump is the right thing to do, regardless of the political realities involved.
In the United States, a president typically has a strong chance of re-election if three factors line up: peace, prosperity and lack of scandal.
Mr Trump was moving towards the 2020 election in a strong position regarding the first two. Rumours of a scandal follow Mr Trump everywhere, but there were many hints of scandal before the 2016 election, and they have lost their power to shock.
Impeachment, however, would stigmatise Mr Trump and greatly hamper his bid for re-election. The situation would worsen if a number of Republican senators supported impeachment.
Mr Trump would probably win the Republican nomination, but he would face a strong challenge if a serious competitor emerged.
For the Democrats, impeachment is messy, but an effective way to hurt Mr Trump's chances of re-election. A more effective way is for Democrats to find a candidate who can beat him.
Mr Joe Biden has seen his support erode since he entered the race in April. Senator Elizabeth Warren now stands the best chance for nomination, but many consider her too far to the left to compete effectively against Mr Trump.
The 2020 election was expected to be close because Mr Trump's approval ratings are not high enough to suggest an easy re-election, but not low enough to suggest an easy defeat.
Impeachment will damage Mr Trump, which makes a Democratic victory the most likely scenario. The next most likely scenario is a narrow Trump re-election.
South Korean leaders should begin to work under the assumption that the Trump era is about to end. They should study how a president Warren would affect US policy towards North Korea and other pressing issues.
TRUMP, CHINA AND BIDEN
Editorial
The Statesman, India
Now with his back to the wall and the risk of impeachment dangerously real, President Donald Trump has made an extraordinary demand on China.
He has called upon Beijing to investigate Mr Joe Biden, a front runner for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election.
He made this request to investigate his leading political rival and his son, Mr Hunter Biden, in defiance of impeachment proceedings in Congress, where he stands accused of abusing his office to put similar pressure on Ukraine.
Mr Trump's SOS to other countries lengthens the loop of such interventions, including Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election. He has truly blurred the line between sovereignty and intervention beyond borders.
It was reported late on Thursday last week that Mr Trump had brought up the Biden issue in a June phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr Trump told Mr Xi as well that he would remain quiet on the unfolding Hong Kong protests as long as trade talks between the US and China progressed.
White House records also contain details of the July call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong in his dealings with the Ukrainian President, and has even accused an intelligence whistle-blower of treason for providing evidence that the President had used the power of his office for his own political ends.
However, Mr Trump appeared to do just that in front of the cameras on the White House lawn last Thursday, when he openly called for Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens.
A PRIMER ON THE PROCESS
Ashfaque Swapan
The Daily Star, Bangladesh
The possible impeachment of President Donald Trump is the talk of the town. Here's a brief primer on how the process of impeaching a US president works.
The first thing to remember is this: Impeaching the president is not removal of the president. That may happen later, depending on developments further along in the process.
So how does impeachment work?
Impeachment is the beginning of a process. It is a formal framing of charges against a US president accused of "high crimes and misdemeanours", as laid down in the US Constitution.
The US has a bicameral federal legislature, the Congress, comprising the 100-member Senate and the 435-member House.
The impeachment process begins in the House. A full House has to pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority.
The process then moves to the Senate. According to precedent, the Senate holds a trial and votes on each article of impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required to remove a president.
It seems quite possible that the Democrat-controlled House will vote to impeach Mr Trump. If and when that happens, the process will then move to the Republican-controlled Senate, and it appears extremely unlikely that the Senate will vote with a two-thirds majority to remove him.
Although a few cracks are beginning to appear, Republican lawmakers are terrified of antagonising him. They know that hell hath no fury like Mr Trump.
One senior Senate aide, a Republican, said: "At this point, Trump could be caught walking out of a Federal Reserve bank with two giant sacks of money in his hands and no Republican would vote to impeach him for grand larceny."
That, in a nutshell, is the mess we are looking at. Only one thing is certain: The coming political battle over impeachment is going to be nasty, bitter and acrimonious, tearing America apart.
Fasten your seat belts, folks.
•The View From Asia is a compilation of articles from The Straits Times' media partner Asia News Network, a grouping of 24 news organisations.
That, in a nutshell, is the mess we are looking at. Only one thing is certain: The coming political battle over impeachment is going to be nasty, bitter and acrimonious, tearing America apart.
CONSEQUENCES OF IMPEACHMENT
Robert J. Fouser The Korea Herald, South Korea
The Korean expression "what was bound to come has arrived" best describes the current political situation in the US. It was only a matter of time before the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives moved to impeach President Donald Trump.
Evidence that Mr Trump appeared to be pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate Mr Hunter Biden, the son of former US vice-president Joe Biden, caused the dam in favour of impeachment to burst. Mr Biden has long been considered the strongest Democrat to take on Mr Trump (in the presidential election next year).
A headcount in the House of Representatives shows 225 of them favour a formal impeachment inquiry. A simple majority of 218 is required to impeach.
If the House of Representatives impeaches Mr Trump, then he would face a trial in the Senate where the support of 67 of the 100 senators would be required to remove the President.
The Republicans have a majority of 53 in the Senate, which means that 20 Republicans would have to break ranks and support impeachment. At present, only a few appear to be open to the idea.
In the past, three US presidents had faced the possibility of impeachment, but no one was removed from office. With Mr Trump, anything is possible, but history suggests that his removal by the Senate is unlikely.
The Democrats know this but are moving forward because history suggests that the impeaching party benefits. Most Democrats believe firmly that impeaching Mr Trump is the right thing to do, regardless of the political realities involved.
In the United States, a president typically has a strong chance of re-election if three factors line up: peace, prosperity and lack of scandal.
Mr Trump was moving towards the 2020 election in a strong position regarding the first two. Rumours of a scandal follow Mr Trump everywhere, but there were many hints of scandal before the 2016 election, and they have lost their power to shock.
Impeachment, however, would stigmatise Mr Trump and greatly hamper his bid for re-election. The situation would worsen if a number of Republican senators supported impeachment.
Mr Trump would probably win the Republican nomination, but he would face a strong challenge if a serious competitor emerged.
For the Democrats, impeachment is messy, but an effective way to hurt Mr Trump's chances of re-election. A more effective way is for Democrats to find a candidate who can beat him.
Mr Joe Biden has seen his support erode since he entered the race in April. Senator Elizabeth Warren now stands the best chance for nomination, but many consider her too far to the left to compete effectively against Mr Trump.
The 2020 election was expected to be close because Mr Trump's approval ratings are not high enough to suggest an easy re-election, but not low enough to suggest an easy defeat.
Impeachment will damage Mr Trump, which makes a Democratic victory the most likely scenario. The next most likely scenario is a narrow Trump re-election.
South Korean leaders should begin to work under the assumption that the Trump era is about to end. They should study how a president Warren would affect US policy towards North Korea and other pressing issues.
TRUMP, CHINA AND BIDEN
Editorial
The Statesman, India
Now with his back to the wall and the risk of impeachment dangerously real, President Donald Trump has made an extraordinary demand on China.
He has called upon Beijing to investigate Mr Joe Biden, a front runner for the Democratic nomination for the 2020 election.
He made this request to investigate his leading political rival and his son, Mr Hunter Biden, in defiance of impeachment proceedings in Congress, where he stands accused of abusing his office to put similar pressure on Ukraine.
Mr Trump's SOS to other countries lengthens the loop of such interventions, including Russia's meddling in the 2016 US election. He has truly blurred the line between sovereignty and intervention beyond borders.
It was reported late on Thursday last week that Mr Trump had brought up the Biden issue in a June phone call with Chinese President Xi Jinping. Mr Trump told Mr Xi as well that he would remain quiet on the unfolding Hong Kong protests as long as trade talks between the US and China progressed.
White House records also contain details of the July call between Mr Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Trump has insisted he did nothing wrong in his dealings with the Ukrainian President, and has even accused an intelligence whistle-blower of treason for providing evidence that the President had used the power of his office for his own political ends.
However, Mr Trump appeared to do just that in front of the cameras on the White House lawn last Thursday, when he openly called for Ukraine and China to investigate the Bidens.
A PRIMER ON THE PROCESS
Ashfaque Swapan
The Daily Star, Bangladesh
The possible impeachment of President Donald Trump is the talk of the town. Here's a brief primer on how the process of impeaching a US president works.
The first thing to remember is this: Impeaching the president is not removal of the president. That may happen later, depending on developments further along in the process.
So how does impeachment work?
Impeachment is the beginning of a process. It is a formal framing of charges against a US president accused of "high crimes and misdemeanours", as laid down in the US Constitution.
The US has a bicameral federal legislature, the Congress, comprising the 100-member Senate and the 435-member House.
The impeachment process begins in the House. A full House has to pass articles of impeachment by a simple majority.
The process then moves to the Senate. According to precedent, the Senate holds a trial and votes on each article of impeachment. A two-thirds majority is required to remove a president.
It seems quite possible that the Democrat-controlled House will vote to impeach Mr Trump. If and when that happens, the process will then move to the Republican-controlled Senate, and it appears extremely unlikely that the Senate will vote with a two-thirds majority to remove him.
Although a few cracks are beginning to appear, Republican lawmakers are terrified of antagonising him. They know that hell hath no fury like Mr Trump.
One senior Senate aide, a Republican, said: "At this point, Trump could be caught walking out of a Federal Reserve bank with two giant sacks of money in his hands and no Republican would vote to impeach him for grand larceny."
That, in a nutshell, is the mess we are looking at. Only one thing is certain: The coming political battle over impeachment is going to be nasty, bitter and acrimonious, tearing America apart.
Fasten your seat belts, folks.
•The View From Asia is a compilation of articles from The Straits Times' media partner Asia News Network, a grouping of 24 news organisations.
