The impeachment inquiry by the US House of Representatives against President Donald Trump is “tightening the noose around his neck” and has left the US in crisis mode, a political analyst in Maryland says.
“The US is in crisis mode now that we are on the verge of impeaching a president, only the 4th time in our history,” said Myles Hoenig, who ran for Congress in 2016 as a Green Party candidate.
“Trump’s approach to his demise is to fight as if he is all that matters. And he fights dirty,” Hoenig said in an interview with Press TV on Wednesday.
“In many ways, he is disgracing his office by throwing out grade school insults,” he added.
The House of Representatives passed a resolution on Thursday to formally proceed with the impeachment inquiry against Trump, ushering in a new phase of the investigation that poses the greatest threat to Trump’s presidency to date.
The House, which is controlled by Democrats, voted largely along party lines, 232 to 196, to formalize the process. Only two Democrats, along with all Republicans, voted against the resolution.
The measure detailed how the inquiry will move into a more public phase and was not a vote on whether to impeach the Republican president.
“The noose around Trump’s presidential neck is tightening,” Hoenig said.
“In so many ways, Trump is his own enemy. He is actually giving some Republicans a reason to see to his removal, as he can bring them down in their own re-elections with his oafish and juvenile behavior,” he argued.
Trump reacted almost instantly on Twitter after the House vote, calling the impeachment the "Greatest Witch Hunt" in US history.
White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham issued a longer statement, accusing opposition Democrats of having an "unhinged obsession with this illegitimate impeachment."
Democrats launched an impeachment inquiry in September after a whistleblower alleged the Republican president pressured Ukraine to investigate his main Democratic rival, former US vice president Joe Biden.
That request by Trump, and accusations he conditioned nearly $400 million in military aid to Ukraine on the political favor, form the basis of the impeachment inquiry that now threatens his presidency.
House Democrats say Trump has abused his office for personal gain and jeopardized national security with by asking Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy to to investigate Biden and his son, Hunter, who had served as a director for Ukrainian energy company Burisma.