Trump acquitted by Senate in impeachment trial

President Donald Trump has been cleared in his impeachment trial, ending a congressional bid to oust him from office that bitterly divided the US.

The Senate, run by the president’s fellow Republicans, voted to acquit him 52-48 on charges of abuse of power and by 53-47 on obstruction of Congress.

Democrats charged Mr Trump in December with pressuring Ukraine to smear a potential White House rival.

In November, Mr Trump will be the first impeached president to go for election.

In its historic vote on Wednesday, the Senate decided not to remove Mr Trump from office on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, arising from his dealings with Ukraine.

The Democratic-led House of Representatives approved the charges on 18 December.

Mitt Romney of Utah was the only Republican senator to vote to convict Mr Trump, on the first charge of abuse of power.

Mr Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said earlier on the Senate floor that the president was “guilty of an appalling abuse of public trust”.

BBC