House meets for impeachment vote against Trump

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(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE DIANA DEGETTE, SAYING:

"The House will be in order."

With the bang of the gavel, the U.S. House of Representatives convened for a vote to impeach President Donald Trump on Wednesday, a momentous and deeply polarizing act Congress is expected to carry out for only the third time in the nation's history.

(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JIM MCGOVERN, SAYING:

"This is about protecting our democracy."

The proceedings kicked off with a debate on the rules and the two articles of impeachment - abuse of power and obstruction of Congress - ahead of what Democratic chairman of the House Rules Committee Jim McGovern called a "democracy-defining moment."

(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE JIM MCGOVERN, SAYING:

"We cannot reconcile the president's abuse of power and obstruction of Congress with the oath of office that we took... History will judge us by whether we keep intact that fragile republic handed down to us by our forebears over 200 years ago - or whether we allow it to be changed forever."

Representative Tom Cole, the House Rules Committee's top Republican, argued that Democrats had not proven their case.

(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) U.S. REPRESENTATIVE TOM COLE, SAYING:

"This is no way to go about impeaching the president of the United States. The articles before us are based on very limited information. They are based on hearsay, on news reports and other unsupported allegations... Democrats in the House are pressing forward with a partisan impeachment vote."

Before the House opened session, the president asked for prayers and aired his grievances on Twitter, saying: "Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG! A terrible Thing. Read the Transcripts. This should never happen to another President again. Say a PRAYER!"

House Democrats accuse Trump of abusing his power by PRESSURING Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden. The president is also accused of obstructing the congressional investigation into his conduct.

A "yea" vote would set up a trial next month in the Republican-controlled Senate.

On Tuesday, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would not be "an impartial juror."

(SOUND BITE) (ENGLISH) SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL, SAYING (DEC 17):

"This is a political process. There is not anything judicial about it. Impeachment is a political decision."

Removing Trump from office would require a two-thirds majority in the 100-member chamber, meaning Democrats would have to persuade at least 20 Republicans to join with them to oust the president.

The Senate has never removed a president from office.

Wednesday's vote is expected to fall almost entirely along party lines, underscoring the deep divide in Congress over Trump's conduct - and the larger political divide within the nation itself.

And while it may be the third time for a U.S. president to be impeached, it's the first time American voters will get to make their own decision about the impeachment when they go to polls in November.