Now, president Trump is the subject of an impeachment inquiry over allegations that he improperly sought help from Ukraine to boost his chances of re-election. He is accused of breaking the law by pressuring Ukraine's leader to dig up damaging information on a political rival.
In July, Trump sought Ukrainian counterpart help to investigate Joe Biden, one of the front runners to take him on in next year's presidential election. This matters because it is illegal to ask foreign entities for help in winning a US election.
There is a fierce debate as to whether Mr Trump broke the law or committed an impeachable offence. Trump says he has done nothing wrong.
At the heart of this story is a complaint from an unknown whistle blower.In August, an anonymous intelligence official wrote a letter expressing concern over Mr Trump's 25 July call with the Ukrainian president.
The letter said they had an "urgent concern" that Mr Trump had used his office to "solicit interference from a foreign country" in the 2020 presidential election. A rough transcript of the call revealed that Mr Trump had urged President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate former US Vice-President Joe Biden as well as Mr Biden's son. The call came shortly after Mr Trump had blocked the release of millions in military aid to Ukraine.
An impeachment inquiry that could see the president eventually removed from office is under way. As per US law, the first part of the impeachment process is framing of the charges and then political process by which Congress can remove a president from office. If the House votes to pass articles of impeachment, the Senate is forced to hold a trial.
A Senate vote requires a two-thirds majority to convict. As of now this is unlikely given that Mr Trump's party controls the chamber. But not impossible!
(Chander Sharma)
(Chander Sharma)
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