US President Donald Trump on Thursday predicted that his impeachment trial in the US Senate will be over quickly and again dismissed abuse of power charges against him as “a hoax.”

President Trump said, “I think it should go very quickly”, in the Oval Office as the upper chamber’s members were sworn in to serve as the jury in Trump’s historic trial over the Ukraine scandal.

“It’s totally partisan,” Trump said. “It’s a hoax. It’s a hoax and everybody knows it’s a complete hoax”, Trump added.

On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi signed the articles of impeachment charging President Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress which were delivered to the Senate.

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell announced that the articles would be formally read to the chamber Thursday at noon (1700 GMT), after which Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts will be sworn in to preside over the trial. Senators will then be sworn in as jurors on Thursday, and preparations will get underway for an impeachment trial that will open on Tuesday, January 21.

The two articles of impeachment, one for abuse of power and the other for obstructing the House investigation, were delivered in blue folders in a solemn procession by the newly appointed House managers, seven Democrats who will prosecute the case against the president.

Trump is accused of secretly holding up $391 million in aid to Ukraine between July and September to pressure Kiev to investigate former vice president Joe Biden, the Democratic frontrunner in this year’s White House race.

The president is also charged with obstruction for holding back witnesses and documents from the House impeachment investigation in defiance of Congressional subpoenas.

On December 18, Trump was formally impeached in a historic vote in the House of Representatives.

Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that the Democrats will begin drafting articles of impeachment against President Trump.

While impeachment is expected to pass in the Democratic-led House, the Senate is held by a Republican majority and would likely acquit the US president as his 2020 reelection campaign gathers pace.

Pelosi argued that the president’s conduct when it came to Ukraine left Democrats with “no choice but to act,” charging that Trump abused the powers of the presidency and leaving little doubt that the House will hold a vote to impeach him as early as before Christmas.

In September, the impeachment inquiry, which Nancy Pelosi initiated over a complaint by an anonymous whistleblower, is looking into White House’s alleged efforts to withhold military aid to have Ukraine investigate a Trump’s political rival, Joe Biden.