Now the historic judicial process against Trump is being decided

Tonight, the Senate votes on whether US President Donald J. Trump should be convicted of the two charges he stands accused of - abuse of power and obstruction of congressional work.

The charges were brought after it emerged that Trump was pressuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to launch an investigation into one of Trump's political opponents.

Merrick Tabor, American and political scientist at Stockholm University, has followed the process. He thinks the outcome is easy to guess.

- The charges are voted down. Which is totally expected, but it was also the starting point from the beginning, he says.

What did it matter if you could still guess the outcome?

- You can see it in different ways. The Democrats have felt that this is their duty. That it is justified under the Constitution. But then of course there are always party political motives, he says

To defy Trump, a two-thirds majority is required. And most likely, he will be acquitted by the Senate when it is ruled by Republicans. They control 53 of the 100 chairs in the chamber.

But not all Republicans will vote for an acquittal. As of today, Republican Senator Mitt Romney announced that he will vote to dismiss the president for abuse of power, but acquit him from obstructing Congressional work.

- My vote is likely to be in the Senate minority. But regardless of that, with my voice I will tell my children and their children that I did my duty to the best of my ability, says Romney according to CNN.

Only four times in history have national investigations against US presidents begun. And only three presidents have been brought before national law. Andrew Johnson, Bill Clinton and now Donald Trump.

The final vote on whether Trump should be acquitted is in the Senate at 10 pm Swedish time.