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U.S. lawmakers begin debate over Trump impeachment

(SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY NADLER, CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SAYING:

"If our elections are corrupt, everything is corrupt."

The House judiciary committee inched closer to impeaching Donald Trump on Wednesday (December 12) in a bitter debate over two articles against the president.

They accuse Trump of abusing his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden.

They also say the president obstructed Congress when lawmakers tried to investigate.

House Judiciary Chairman and Democrat Jerrold Nadler called evidence against Trump 'overwhelming'

(SOUNDBITE) (English) JERRY NADLER, CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE SAYING:

"If the president can first abuse his power and then stonewall all congressional requests for information, Congress cannot fulfil its duty to act as a check and balance against the executive (branch) - and the president becomes a dictator."

The committee's top Republican, Doug Collins, pushed back.

He called the evidence against Trump flimsy and the hearing a farce.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE RANKING MEMBER, DOUG COLLINS, SAYING:

"You can't make your case against the president because nothing happened. After all these hearings and all these grand pronouncements and all these talks of crime in plain sight, we get abuse of power? With no real dates on this is the abuse, its just generic, vague statements? You know why I believe that is, its because the Democrats can't come up with the argument for it."

The committee is expected to approve the charges sometime on Thursday.

They're likely to hit the House floor and be approved there next week, making Trump the third president in U.S. history to be impeached.

Trump's seems to have back-pedal on his initial call for a full-blown trial in the Senate.

He now appears to be in favor of a shorter proceeding, possibly with no witnesses.