Donald Trump says 'will win' impeachment fight

Washington, Dec 05: After the US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday instructed the House panel to draft impeachment articles against President Donald Trump, a wilful President Trump predicted he will win.

Minutes after the Democratic speaker of the House gave the greenlight for impeachment. Donald Trump tweeted, "The good thing is that the Republicans have NEVER been more united. We will win!"

According to PTI report, on Wednesday, Pelosi met behind closed doors with her Democratic caucus, asking, "Äre you ready?" The answer was a resounding yes, according to those in the room.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are charging toward a Christmastime vote on removing the 45th president, a situation Pelosi hoped to avoid but which now seems inevitable.

Trump is alleged to have abused the power of his office by putting personal political gain over national security interests, engaging in bribery by withholding USD 400 million in military aid Congress had approved for Ukraine; and then obstructing Congress by stonewalling the investigation.

Across the Capitol, the polarizing political divide over impeachment, only the fourth such inquiry in the nation's history, was on display. Democrats in the House say the inquiry is a duty.

Meanwhile, Trump's team fanned out across the Capitol with Vice President Mike Pence meeting with House Republicans and White House officials conferring with Senate Republicans to prepare for what could be the first presidential impeachment trial in a generation.

White House Counsel Pat Cipollone, who has declined for now to participate in the House proceedings, relayed Trump's hope that the impeachment effort can be stopped in the House and there will be no need for a Senate trial, which seems unlikely. White House officials and others said Trump is eager to have his say. Sen.

On Wednesday's session, three legal experts called by Democrats said impeachment was merited. Noah Feldman, a Harvard Law School professor, said he considered it clear that the president's conduct met the definition of "high crimes and misdemeanors." Said Michael Gerhardt, a University of North Carolina law professor, "If what we're talking about is not impeachable ... then nothing is impeachable." The only Republican witness, Jonathan Turley, a law professor at George Washington University, dissented from the other legal experts. He said the Democrats were bringing a "slipshod impeachment" case against the president, but he didn't excuse Trump's behaviour. "It is not wrong because President Trump is right," Turley said. "A case for impeachment could be made, but it cannot be made on this record."