The US House of Representatives judiciary committee has approved two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump.
The committee voted to press formal charges against Mr Trump who is accused of abusing his power by trying to force Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden and of obstructing Congress when politicians tried to investigate.
A full vote will now be held next week.
If that vote passes in the Democrat-majority House, then impeachment proceedings will continue to a full trial in the Senate.
However, the Republican-led chamber is unlikely to vote to remove Mr Trump from the White House.
Mr Trump will be only the third US president in history to face impeachment proceedings.
He says the proceedings will assist his election campaign.
The president has denied any wrongdoing and condemned the impeachment inquiry as a hoax.
In a tweet yesterday he said: "No crime!"
Mr Trump tweeted after the vote today to praise the panel's Republicans as "warriors" and to say he has done nothing wrong.
He said the Democrats were making fools of themselves, describing the proceedings as "a witch hunt," "scam,'' and "hoax".
Reporting by IRN
