Donald Trump set to be acquitted in impeachment trial
US President Donald Trump is all but certain of being acquitted in his impeachment trial.
On Friday, senators voted against calling witnesses or admitting new evidence.
It was a move from Democrats that would have in all likelihood only extended the trial without changing its outcome.
However, they had been dependent on four possible swing Republicans to vote for witnesses.
Only two sided with the Democrats in the end.
The next phase of the trial is a vote on whether to acquit Trump and it is overwhelming likely he will win.
The Republican Party were reported as pushing for a quick trial without witness or new evidence from the off.
Its senior members wanted to avoid former National Security Adviser John Bolton from being called to the stands.
The New York Times says Bolton has written in an upcoming book that he was instructed to withhold military aid from Ukraine in exchange for dirt on a Joe Biden.
Biden is a Democratic political rival.
If the senators had heard Bolton’s testimony it would have threatened to undermine the case made by Trump’s lawyers during the trial.
Trump was impeached on two charges. One being the abuse of power, which stemmed from an alleged he had pressured Ukraine to damage Biden for political gain.
The second was for obstruction of Congress. Democrats allege that Trump purposefully obstructed the Congressional impeachment investigation.
The final vote whether to acquit Trump will be held on 5 February.