Washington — Democrats in the US Congress will begin proceedings on Wednesday that are widely expected to end in impeachment charges against President Donald Trump, a day after they accused him of abusing his office in a bid to secure his re-election in 2020.

After more than two months of investigation, the House of Representatives judiciary committee will hold a hearing to examine whether Trump’s alleged misdeeds in his dealings with Ukraine qualify as the “high crimes and misdemeanours” punishable by impeachment under the US constitution.

The panel could move quickly in the coming weeks to recommend charges, known as articles of impeachment, against Trump, setting up a possible impeachment vote by the full House before Christmas, followed by a trial in the Senate in January. Republicans, who control the Senate, have shown little appetite for removing Trump from office.

Democrats, who need to make their case to an American public that polls show to be bitterly divided on the issue, concluded in a 300-page report by the House intelligence committee on Tuesday that Trump solicited Ukraine to undertake investigations that would benefit him politically. He also undermined national security and orchestrated an unprecedented effort to obstruct Congress, the report by the Democrat-led committee charged.

Trump has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation a “witch hunt”.

The report, which largely ended the impeachment inquiry’s investigative phase that began on September 24, appeared to lay the groundwork for at least two articles of impeachment: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Those findings contradicted a 110-page House Republican report released on Monday that said the inquiry was informed by “unelected bureaucrats” who disagreed with Trump’s style, world view and decisions, and that the probe uncovered no evidence of an impeachable offence.