Just How Much Trouble Is Donald Trump In? A Politics Professor Explains

28 September 2019, 08:09 | Updated: 28 September 2019, 08:14

Donald Trump is the first president since the 1990s to face impeachment. But how likely is it and will he be convicted? We asked a politics professor to explain.

Professor Scott Lucas is a professor of International Politics and American Studies at the University of Birmingham.

He told Andrew Castle that Donald Trump is "in some serious trouble".

Professor Lucas explained: "This started just over a week ago with revelations that in a late July phone call with the Ukraine President (Zelensky), he demanded an investigation into Joe Biden, the former Vice President and currently running for president in 2020.

"We've had further revelations over the last week that have been quite dramatic including that White House officials were so disturbed that they tried to withdraw the transcript of the meeting.

"We've had the official complaint that details a month-long campaign by Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani to force the US government to investigate or dig up political dirt on Biden.

Including the possibility that trump threatened to withhold military aide if Ukraine did not comply."

He then explained: "We will get an impeachment enquiry that will quite likely lead to the impeachment, in other words, the indictment of Donald Trump for an abuse of power.

It will be up to the Republican majority Senate as to whether they will convict him."

Professor Lucas said that the transcript of the call shows that Tump "repeatedly" asked for information on Biden.

Two documents, he said, have been released. A reconstruction of the call between Trump and Zelensky and an "actual copy of the complaint".

The politics lecturer also added that it is being reported that Trump spoke to Russia and said the investigation into possible Russian interference in US election would "not touch Russia or him."