US House ready to impeach President; Trump unfazed

Washington DC: Donald Trump, on the verge of becoming the third US president to be impeached, has attacked House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and accused the Democrats of an "unprecedented and unconstitutional" abuse of power as he described himself as a victim of an "illegal, partisan attempted coup."

Hours before the House of Representatives is set to vote on articles of impeachment accusing him of abusing his power and obstructing lawmakers' investigations, Trump wrote in his indignant six-page missive that Democrats would come to regret their efforts when voters cast ballots next year.

Democratic lawmakers were expected to approve two impeachment charges against Trump, the Republican president later on Wednesday.

After hours of acrimonious debate, the House Judiciary Committee approved two charges against Trump last week. The first is abuse of power. It accuses Trump of trying to pressure Ukraine to smear Joe Biden, his likely Democratic political rival in the 2020 General Elections. The second charge is obstructing Congress. Trump is accused of failing to co-operate with the House impeachment investigation.

Trump, 73, is scheduled to face a trial in the Senate next month, but the lower chamber is controlled by the Republicans. Thus, Trump is sure that the Democrats will not have the support from two-thirds of senators to vote that he should be removed from office.