She began solemnly, but ended with fire.

"The President's actions have seriously violated the constitution," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said as she delivered the historic news that Democrats will draft impeachment charges against Donald Trump.

"The President has engaged in abuse of power, undermining our national security and jeopardising the integrity of our elections."

The announcement was all very lofty and grave.

But as she briefed journalists later, a reporter shouted "Do you hate the President, Madam Speaker?" as she exited the stage.

"I was raised in a Catholic house, and we don't hate anybody," she said, raising her voice and turning to the reporter, plainly furious, with her finger extended in a lecture.

"I was raised in a way that was a heart full of love and I prayed for the President every day. And I still pray for the President."

The reporter said he was just reiterating one of the Republican talking points.

Republicans, led by Mr Trump himself, have accused the Democrats of pursuing impeachment to undo the election or carry out a coup d'etat or otherwise act on personal animus.

Ms Pelosi took the opportunity to refute that.

"Let me just say this: I think the President is a coward when it comes to helping kids who are afraid of gun violence. I think he's cruel when he doesn't help our DREAMers. I think he's in denial about the climate crisis," she said.

"However, that's about the election. This is about the constitution of the United States and the facts that led to the President's violation of his oath of office.

"So don't mess with me when it comes to words like that."

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It's a moment that says everything about today's polarised America and a debate over impeachment in which experts, diplomats and public servants have been accused of political motivation, evidence has been twisted by both sides and false facts are weaponised.

But here we are. Donald Trump is going to be impeached

That's the upshot of Ms Pelosi's announcement that charges will be drafted in the form of Articles of Impeachment.

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It's the House Judiciary Committee that will be doing the drafting, and chairman Jerry Nadler is the one that Ms Pelosi has tasked with carriage of the process.

Handed the Impeachment Inquiry report from the Democrat-led House Intelligence Committee, the Judiciary Committee has begun its own series of hearings examining the report and taking expert testimony on what the charges against the President will be.

The first hearing had the tone of a university lecture, with the names of founding fathers being tossed about on a sea of legal vocab.

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It's doubtful that many Americans tuned in for any of the eight-hour affair. Republican House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy suggested that Ms Pelosi didn't even do so herself.

"If she paused and actually listened to the hearings yesterday … she would know that this is the weakest, thinnest impeachment in American history," he said.

Four constitutional scholars — three chosen by Democrats and one by Republicans — made arguments that stuck to party lines. Three said there's ample evidence the President committed impeachable offences.

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The Republicans' witness — who made it clear he didn't vote for Mr Trump — said he thought it was possible the President could be impeached if the Democrats spent more time building a case and had access to some of the information that the White House has blocked.

However, Johnathan Turley described the current process as "slipshod", warning that trivialising impeachment puts all future presidents at risk.

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"This is not how you impeach an American president," he said.

"It's not a case of the unknowable, it's a case of the peripheral. We have a record of conflict, defences that have not been fully considered, subpoenaed witnesses with material evidence.

"To impeach a president on this record would expose every future president to the same type of inchoate impeachment."

It's all about the process

Republicans have spent a lot of time attacking the process, although the basic facts around the President's request to Ukraine for a "favour" aren't in dispute.

What is, is whether Mr Trump's behaviour is impeachable.

Pointing to the cases against Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon as precedent, Mr McCarthy said the Democrats have spent shamefully little time investigating the President.

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Investigations into presidents Clinton and Nixon had been completed before the impeachment intentions were announced. This time, the cart is slightly ahead of the horse, which is feeding talk that the Democrats are just fishing for a reason to get him out.

One factor is that the Democrats are eager to finish off impeachment before the Democratic primaries kick off in February. They don't want to risk losing America's attention as they spend more time unearthing evidence.

And the constitutional scholars in yesterday's hearing offered another counterpoint. In the case of this President, an investigation has already been completed: The Mueller Report.

"President Trump welcomed foreign interference in the 2016 election. He demanded it for the 2020 election," Mr Nadler said.

"In both cases, he got caught, and in both cases, he did everything in his power to prevent the American people from learning the truth about his conduct."

Ms Pelosi also alluded to the Mueller Report — a hint, perhaps, that the impeachment charges will be multi-pronged.

"Our democracy is what is at stake," she said.

"The President leaves us no choice but to act because he is trying to corrupt, once again, the election for his own benefit."

And speaking of foreign relations…

It's been a forgettable week for Mr Trump, who spent the first part of it at the NATO summit.

Though he took strides in his fight to increase allies' defence spending, he got more attention for being the butt of a joke made by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The moment has already fuelled campaign politics.

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If it looks bad, remember the events on the calendar.

Next week, the House Judiciary Committee resumes hearings into impeachment. The articles of impeachment won't be far behind.

Expect the House to impeach the President before Christmas.

Then there'll be a Senate trial, which you can expect to devolve in bitter partisan rhetoric.

The White House is already said to be girding for a bitter legal fight that may extend into allegations about the Bidens.

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And, after all this, it's still likely that Mr Trump will face another long campaign and tight election.

If the current state of things is an indication, he will spend four more years ruling a divided nation, where "hate" is a deepening emotion.