What if Donald Trump is found guilty?

Trump is only the third president of the United States to have been convicted. But no president has ever left office through the impeachment process.

Wednesday's historic votes established another possible January trial in the Senate, which is largely controlled by the Republicans, where Trump is expected to be released.

As politicians go through the trial phase, here's what else you have to expect:

On what charges was Trump convicted? 

Trump is accused of abusing his powers in office and obstructing Congress during the impeachment investigation.

The Democrats accuse Trump of putting pressure on Ukraine to open an investigation into the president's political rival and former deputy chairman Joe Biden, who is also a predecessor in the 2020 presidential Democratic race. They also charge that the president prevented their investigation by refusing to implement leaflets and leading members of his administration to do the same.

The impeachment probe, launched in September, focused on a 25 July phone call, during which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open an investigation into Biden and his son Hunter, who had served aboard a Ukrainian gas company. There is no evidence of Benden and his son's wrongdoing.

Trump also wanted Zelensky to investigate a conspiracy theory, that if Ukraine, not Russia, had intervened in the US presidential election in 2016.

At the time of the call, the Trump administration was holding nearly $400m in military assistance approved by Congress from Ukraine.

What is the Senate's judgment?

The guilty articles are expected to be sent to the Senate, where senators will consider evidence, hear witnesses and vote for the president's release or condemnation. The U.S. Supreme Court's main justice leads the trial.

A two-thirds majority vote in the 100-member Senate is required to sentence and remove a president from office. And this seems impossible in Trump's case.

The Senate is made up of 53 republics, 45 Democrats and two independents making up democratic groups. At least 20 republics will have to vote with all Democrats and two independents to get the president out of office.

The Senate's Democrat leader, Chuck Schumer, has said he wants to hear from four additional witnesses, including White House Chief of Staff taskman Mick Mulvaney and former Trump National Security adviser John Bolton.

McConnell said Tuesday he hopes to meet with Schumer soon to determine the next steps. He added that he is <x0timistic” that Republicans and Democrats can agree to a first “phasis” of the trial, which will include the presentation of the case and defence.

“We will look at that point if there are 51 members of the Senate who want to take one of the two directions either go towards witnesses or go to the polls for the guilty articles”, McConnell was quoted by the Reuters News Agency.

But, after Wednesday's vote of impeachment, Pelosi said he would wait, for now, to send the guilt items to the Senate.

American media have reported that several Chamber Democrats are looking to Pelosi to stop sending items up to “the right time”.

Pelos avoided asking when she plans to send articles to the Senate on Wednesday.

It would be our intention to send the articles to the Senate, but we will see what happens there”, Pelosi told reporters.

Pelosi said the Democrats will make a decision on future steps such as “a group”.

When will a trial take place in the Senate?

After the Senate receives the articles on guilt, a trial may begin.

No date set for a trial in the Senate has been set, but McConnell said it would be <x0ndrend in the first row” after returning to Washington, DC, in the new year.

The Senate Democrats have proposed a court plan that will begin on January 6th. Presentations by chamber managers, who would function effectively as prosecutors, would begin on January 9th under the plan. But it seems unlikely that the Senate republics would agree with the Democrats' proposal.

Who would be president if Trump left office? 

If the Senate were to condemn and remove Trump from office, Deputy Chairman Mike Pence would become president and complete Trump's mandate, which ends on January 20th, 2021. /Telegraphy/