Neither the Christmas turkey nor the plum pudding might be quite delectable in the White House later this month after last Thursday’s watershed forward movement in the constitutional history of the United States of America.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, has asked the House judiciary committee to proceed with the Articles of Impeachment against Donald Trump, a directive that has succinctly been couched with the words, “No choice but to act”. “Sadly, but with confidence and humility, with allegiance to our founders and a heart full of love for America, today I am asking our chairman to proceed with the Articles of Impeachment.”

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The goahead follows an inquiry that revealed the President’s failure to uphold the law; his actions have been deemed to be a ‘violation of the public trust’. Few Presidents have countenanced so severe an indictment from the head of the legislature, and Mr Trump has come through as a virtually failed Head of State.

There was a degree of pregnant symbolism in Ms Pelosi’s presentation. Notably, she has quoted from the Declaration of Independence and the founding fathers ~ James Madison, George Mason and Benjamin Franklin ~ about the dangers of a President one day betraying the country’s trust to foreign powers, specifically Mr Trump’s appeal to Ukraine to scuttle the prospects of Joe Biden, the former Vice-President and a probable Democrat contestant for the presidency.

Indeed, the incumbent’s reliance on “foreign powers” has been a striking feature of Trump’s electoral narrative, a trend that was palpable when he sought Vladimir Putin’s assistance to block the presidential prospects of Hilary Clinton in 2016. As it turns out, prior to Election 2020, the American voter has been witness to the alleged involvement of a former Soviet satellite. Arguing that Trump had engaged in “misconduct on a historic scale”, the House Speaker cautioned the nation that “If we allow a President to be above the law, we do so surely at the peril of our Republic. In America, nobody is above the law.”

In glaring contrast, Mr Trump has offered a feeble response to an ugly truth ~ “The good thing is that the Republicans have never been more united. We will win!” Thus has he skirted the core issue that resonates in the echo chambers of Congress and the White House. The judiciary committee will now draft the Articles of Impeachment for approval as early as this week. A vote on whether to impeach Trump could follow on the floor of the House before a 20 December holiday break.

Ms Pelosi has followed the Democrat strategy of framing the impeachment inquiry as a “joyless task made imperative by the historic dimensions of Trump’s abuse of power”.

Whatever the outcome, the President’s candidature for next November is now under a cloud, as dense as it is damning.