U.S. President Donald Trump holds a campaign rally in Monroe, Louisiana, U.S., November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Leah Millis – RC226D94OX2J Reuters

Donald Trump’s presidency has been upended by an explosive whistleblower complaint that has snowballed into a fast-moving impeachment inquiry.

The scandal has ensnared dozens of people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and poses the most immediate threat to Trump’s presidency yet.

What is impeachment? How did we get here? And what could happen next?

We hope this guide will help answer these questions. There’s even a table of contents below so you can jump to a specific section.

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Donald Trump’s presidency has been upended by an explosive whistleblower complaint that has snowballed into a fast-moving impeachment inquiry, ensnaring dozens of people on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean and posing the most immediate threat to Trump’s presidency yet.

What is impeachment? Impeachment doesn’t mean automatic removal from office. The impeachment process can be thought of as somewhat analogous to a criminal proceeding, even though impeachable offenses don’t have to be criminal offenses. The House, like a grand jury, collects evidence, hears testimony, and drafts articles of impeachment — or charges — against the president.

If a majority of the House votes to charge the president, the Senate holds a trial where both sides present their cases and senators act as jurors. If two-thirds of senators vote to convict the president on the charges brought by the House, the president is removed from office.

How did we get here? And what could happen next? We hope this guide will help answer these questions. We highly recommend you read the entirety of this story so you can be as informed as possible, but you can also jump to a specific section from the table of contents below.

Table of contents

Everything you need to know about Trump’s impeachment process: What’s happened, who the players are, and what comes next

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