Democrats are embarrassed by their impeachment inquiry, claims Donald Trump

Donald Trump has blasted House Democrats for announcing an agreement to pass a revamp of the decades-old North American trade deal on the same day they unveiled articles of impeachment against him.

The US President said House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi had sought to use the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement trade pact to deflect attention from the impeachment effort.

“They announced the impeachment and then an hour later she announced that she is going to do USMCA,” Mr Trump told the cheering crowd in Pennsylvania.

"You know why, it’s a huge deal and it plays down the impeachment because they’re embarrassed by the impeachment."

House Democrats opened the impeachment inquiry in September over allegations that Mr Trump abused his office by pressuring Ukrainian officials to investigate his Democratic presidential rival Joe Biden.

Yesterday, formal charges against Mr Trump were announced , accusing him of abusing power and obstructing Congress.

The full Democratic-controlled House is expected to vote on the charges, or articles of impeachment, next week.

It is almost certain to vote to impeach the Republican president, setting the stage for a dramatic trial in the Republican-controlled Senate, likely to begin in January.

The formal charges makes Mr Trump only the fourth US president in history to face impeachment.

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