The US Senate could acquit Donald Trump of impeachment charges as early as Friday after Democratic efforts to call trial witnesses appeared to fall short, handing the president a decisive political victory heading into a tough re-election fight. But after a key Republican senator, Lamar Alexander, announced late Thursday that he would oppose witnesses, Democratic prosecutors from the House appeared lacking support to overcome the 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate. Only the third US president to be impeached and stand trial, Trump is accused of illicitly pressuring Ukraine -- including by holding up some $391 million in defense aid -- to investigate rival Democrats including his possible 2020 challenger Joe Biden. "If we don't see a single witness in Trump's impeachment trial, this is a miscarriage of justice." "We're dealing with a purely partisan impeachment," Cipollone said, accusing Democrats of using impeachment "as a political weapon."

Source: Punch January 31, 2020 16:07 UTC