Trump impeachment articles sent to Senate

Members of the US House of Representatives delivered the articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump to the Senate on Wednesday, setting the stage for the third presidential impeachment trial in the country's history.

Led by the House of Representatives' sergeant-at-arms and the House clerk carrying the documents on a tray, seven House managers walked through a nearly empty Statuary Hall and the Capitol rotunda.

More than a dozen Senate Democrats sat silently at their desks when the group arrived at the Senate. They were joined by two Republican senators, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Kevin Cramer.

A third Republican, Chuck Grassley, presided from the dais.

The House members were ushered to a bench at the rear of the Senate chamber, where they sat in silence as the House clerk announced the impeachment resolution had passed, and Grassley responded: "The message will be received."

Earlier on Wednesday, the House voted 228-193 along party lines to send the articles to the Senate. The vote came after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withheld the articles for nearly a month in an attempt to influence the rules of the trial.

The articles of impeachment accuse Trump of pressuring Ukraine to open investigations to benefit him politically, including by withholding almost $400 million in aid to help the country combat Russian aggression, and of impeding Congress' investigation by preventing witnesses from testifying, and defying subpoenas for documentary evidence. Trump denies such claims.

The House also approved a resolution naming seven impeachment managers who will present the Democratic-controlled chamber's case against Trump during the trial that is expected to start on Jan 21.

Trump also will designate a team to defend himself. White House counsel Pat Cipollone is expected to lead the team. Trump's personal lawyer Jay Sekulow is also expected to join.

White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham accused Pelosi of lying "when she claimed this was urgent and vital to national security because when the articles passed, she held them for an entire month".

Trump posted a single tweet: "Here we go again, another Con Job by the Do Nothing Democrats."

Later on Wednesday morning at a White House ceremony for the signing of the first phase of a trade deal with China, attended by a delegation from China and Trump's Cabinet members, Trump brought up the impeachment. He again denounced it as a "hoax", and told House Republicans in the audience that if they needed to, they could be excused to rush to the Capitol to vote against naming the Democratic managers and advancing the charges to the Senate.

The House managers were expected to go to the Senate on Thursday to read the articles of impeachment against Trump.

A Senate trial on Jan 21 would give members time to vote this week to approve Trump's trade agreement with Canada and Mexico. They also can travel to their home districts for the Martin Luther King Jr holiday weekend. Once the trial begins, the senators must be at their desks in the Senate chamber six days a week.

McConnell said senators would take sworn oaths to render "impartial justice" in the trial. But he told reporters last month that he was "not an impartial juror" and recently he supported a resolution to dismiss the articles of impeachment in the Senate, though it is unlikely that the resolution would have enough support to pass.

Reuters contributed to this story.