Impeachment articles good to go

Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the US House of Representatives will take steps next week to transmit the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, ending a three-week standoff but confronting the Senate with only the third trial in US history to remove a chief executive.

In a letter to her Democratic colleagues yesterday, Pelosi said she was proud of their ‘‘courage and patriotism’’, and warned that senators now had a choice as they consider the charges of abuse and obstruction against the president.

‘‘In an impeachment trial, every senator takes an oath to do ‘impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws’,’’ Pelosi wrote. ‘‘Every senator now faces a choice: to be loyal to the president or the Constitution.’’

The trial could begin week.

The Constitution gives the House the sole power to impeach a president, but the Senate the ability to render a verdict when it convenes as the Court of Impeachment.

Her decision to end the showdown with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell does not fully bring closure to the question of whether the Senate will consider new witnesses, next as some want, shifting pressure on to senators to decide.

Trump swiftly signalled his intention of blocking any testimony from John Bolton, the brash former national security adviser who could be a wild card witness in the trial.

Trump is widely expected to be acquitted of the charges that he abused power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, then obstructed Congress in its investigation. No president has ever been removed by the Senate.

McConnell, who has been working closely with the White House on strategy, said yesterday the Senate was ‘‘anxious to get started’’.