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Trump Impeachment: A Guide To Key People, Facts And Documents

Ella Trujillo for NPR

Updated on Jan. 20 at 11:15 p.m. ET

The Senate has begun a trial on whether or not to remove President Trump from office, over a month after the House voted to impeach him. A group of House Democrats, called impeachment managers, are arguing the case for convicting the president and removing him from office. Trump's legal defense team includes White House counsel Pat Cipollone and personal lawyer Jay Sekulow.

Read the latest news about the inquiry; listen to our special broadcast coverage.

While momentum toward impeachment had been building among Democrats for months, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced an inquiry in September — after a whistleblower complaint about a White House phone call with Ukraine.

In a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on July 25, Trump asked for an investigation into a debunked conspiracy theory about the 2016 election and into potential 2020 rival and former Vice President Joe Biden. The White House is also accused of withholding military aid to Ukraine for Trump's personal political gain. Trump maintains that he has done nothing wrong.

The House conducted an inquiry that involved a series of closed-door depositions followed by open hearings with key witnesses, including career diplomats with expertise in Ukraine policy. The House Judiciary Committee then voted to recommend impeachment, and the full House voted to impeach on Dec. 18.

The Senate trial began in earnest on Jan. 21, with a vote on the ground rules. Each side then had 24 hours over three days for opening arguments. A period of questioning and then debate over witnesses follows the arguments. At the end of the trial, the Senate will vote on whether to remove Trump from office or acquit him.

The Articles

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California strikes the gavel after announcing the passage of article II of impeachment against President Trump on Dec. 18.
Patrick Semansky / AP
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AP
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California strikes the gavel after announcing the passage of article II of impeachment against President Trump on Dec. 18.

The House brought two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

"President Trump has acted in a manner contrary to his trust as President and subversive of constitutional government, to the great prejudice of the cause of law and justice, and to the manifest injury of the people of the United States," the resolution reads.

Read the articles.

The Trial

Caroline Amenabar and Alyson Hurt / NPR
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NPR

Following the House vote to impeach, the Senate holds a trial. Republican and Democratic leadership have been fighting over what constitutes a "fair" trial and whether that includes witnesses who did not take part in the House's investigation.

In the trial, members of the House serve as "managers" who make the case for Trump's removal. The president has his own defense team, including White House counsel, outside attorneys and Republican members of the House.

After the proceedings, senators vote on whether to remove or acquit Trump, based on each article.

Read more about the trial process.

Who Was On The Call

The White House has not released a full list of participants on the July 25 call, but NPR has compiled a list of people identified so far. Here's who they are.

Timeline: The Ukraine Affair

Clockwise from top left: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
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AFP/Getty Images and Getty Images
Clockwise from top left: Rudy Giuliani, President Trump, former Vice President Joe Biden, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

From Trump's early focus on Ukraine in 2017, to the release of the whistleblower complaint on Sept. 26, here's how we got to the impeachment inquiry.

Separately, here is a full timeline of the impeachment inquiry, including these key dates:

Dec. 11: House Judiciary begins debate on articles
Dec. 13: House Judiciary approves articles of impeachment
Dec. 18: Full House debates the articles and then votes to impeach
Jan. 16: House impeachment managers hand-deliver the articles to the Senate, a day after being appointed. U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts and senators are sworn in.
Jan. 21: Opening arguments begin in the Senate trial.

Who And What: Key People And Concepts

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch surrounded by lawyers, aides and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol to testify on Oct. 11.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
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Getty Images
Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch surrounded by lawyers, aides and journalists as she arrives at the U.S. Capitol to testify on Oct. 11.

Since the original whistleblower complaint was released, the list of names of those connected to Trump's call with Zelenskiy or to broader Ukraine policy has grown substantially.

From the president to career diplomats to private lawyers, here is a quick guide to people connected to the events being investigated.

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In-depth profiles and features:

  • John Bolton: Democrats now have an unlikely ally
  • Pat Cipollone: Trial turns spotlight on White House counsel
  • Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman: A complicated web connects two Soviet-born businessmen with the inquiry
  • Nancy Pelosi: How the House speaker unified a divided caucus
  • Mike Pence: Inquiry will test a political path shaped by faith
  • Rick Perry: How the energy secretary became a key figure
  • Adam Schiff: The surprising face of the impeachment inquiry
  • Gordon Sondland: The ambassador whose texts put him at the center of the Ukraine scandal
  • Kurt Volker: Ex-U.S. special envoy to Ukraine caught in whirlwind of impeachment inquiry
  • Marie Yovanovitch: How the former ambassador became a target in Ukraine
  • Volodymyr Zelenskiy: How Ukraine's president wound up in the middle
  • Quid pro quo: From simple exchange to shakedown, here's how the phrase evolved
  • Trump and the CIA: How the relationship between Trump and his spy chiefs soured
  • Documents: Primary Sources

    Written words are central to the Ukraine affair. The significance of the whistleblower's original complaint and the White House's record of its call with Ukraine are debated, but the text is public. Here are the documents to refer to as the inquiry proceeds:

    Texts and memos

  • Call: The White House memo of Trump's July call with Zelenskiy (Sept. 25)
  • Aid: The Pentagon letter on military aid to Ukraine (Sept. 25)
  • Complaint: The whistleblower complaint (Sept. 26)
  • Texts: Batch of texts between diplomats released by House Democrats (Oct. 4)
  • Letter: A fact check of the White House legal argument (Oct. 9)
  • The Other Call: The log of Trump's April call with Zelenskiy (Nov. 15)
  • The articles of impeachment: Abuse of power and obstruction of Congress (Dec. 10.)
  • Judiciary report: House panel's summary of the evidence (Dec. 16)
  • Trump letter to Pelosi: Trump slams "partisan impeachment crusade" (Dec. 17)
  • White House legal brief: Trump's defense accuses Democrats of "dangerous perversion" of the Constitution (Jan. 20)
  • Trial rules: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's resolution (Jan. 20)
  • Corroborating the whistleblower complaint

    The whistleblower's complaint has largely been corroborated by witness testimony, public statements and media reports. Read an annotation of the document.

    Transcripts of closed-door depositions

  • Christopher Anderson, former special adviser for Ukraine negotiations
  • Laura Cooper, deputy assistant secretary of defense for Russia, Ukraine and Eurasia
  • Catherine Croft, former Ukraine adviser on the National Security Council
  • David Hale, under secretary of state for political affairs
  • David Holmes, political counselor at U.S. embassy in Kyiv
  • Fiona Hill, former White House adviser on Russia
  • George Kent, deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs
  • Michael McKinley, former State Department adviser
  • Philip Reeker, acting assistant secretary of State for Europe
  • Mark Sandy, White House budget official
  • Gordon Sondland, U.S. ambassador to EU
  • William Taylor, acting U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
  • Alexander Vindman, top Ukraine expert on the National Security Council
  • Kurt Volker, former Ukraine envoy
  • Marie Yovanovitch, ex-U.S. ambassador to Ukraine
  • Public hearings

    Gordon Sondland, the U.S ambassador to the European Union, departs for a short break while testifying before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
    Drew Angerer / Getty Images
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    Getty Images
    Gordon Sondland, the U.S ambassador to the European Union, departs for a short break while testifying before the House Intelligence Committee in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

    Nov. 13: William Taylor, George Kent
    Taylor Says Trump Asked About Ukraine 'Investigations'

    Nov. 15: Marie Yovanovitch
    Yovanovitch Says Trump Comments In July Call Felt Like A 'Threat'

    Nov. 19: Jennifer Williams, Alexander Vindman, Kurt Volker, Tim Morrison
    Impeachment Witness Testifies That Trump's Ukraine Call Was 'Improper'

    Nov. 20: Gordon Sondland, Laura Cooper, David Hale
    Sondland Says Top Trump Officials Knew Of Push For Ukraine Investigations

    Nov. 21: Fiona Hill, David Holmes
    Impeachment Hearings Wrap As Fiona Hill Slams GOP's 'Fictional' Ukraine Account

    Dec. 4: House Judiciary hearing on impeachment and the Constitution
    Judiciary Committee Takes Up Impeachment In Hearing With Legal Scholars

    Dec. 9: Presentation of the evidence for impeachment to Judiciary
    Democrats Argue Trump Actions Are 'Clear And Present Danger'

    Special Coverage

    NPR is airing special coverage at pivotal moments in the inquiry to help you make sense of it all. Listen to those broadcasts on your local public radio station. Find the archive of the audio here.

    Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

    Listen to the Story
    Special Report: U.S. Ambassador To The EU Gordon Sondland's Public Testimony
    Takeaways From Day 3 Of Testimony In The Public Impeachment Hearings
    Listen to the Story
    Takeaways: Day 1 Of The Public Impeachment Inquiry Hearings
    Who Are The Key People And What Did They Know

    Dana Farrington is a digital editor coordinating online coverage on the Washington Desk — from daily stories to visual feature projects to the weekly newsletter. She has been with the NPR Politics team since President Trump's inauguration. Before that, she was among NPR's first engagement editors, managing the homepage for NPR.org and the main social accounts. Dana has also worked as a weekend web producer and editor, and has written on a wide range of topics for NPR, including tech and women's health.