The key facts

  • According to preliminary results, the Democrats are gaining control of both chambers of Congress
  • The investigations may touch on Musk, Trump's sons and White House staff
  • The party leadership chose gathering evidence over immediate impeachment

Investigations after the elections

Politicians of the US Democratic Party are preparing to launch investigations into Donald Trump's actions as president over the past two years. This was reported by the Reuters agency, citing comments from dozens of congressmen, lawyers and political consultants; the preparations for the probes were also covered by Gazeta.Ru and Life.ru. Among the potential subjects of the inquiries, the agency names SpaceX head Elon Musk, the president's sons and a number of White House employees.

Impeachment postponed in favor of gathering evidence

Some Democrats had previously called for immediately starting impeachment proceedings against Trump after the midterm elections on November 3, but the party leadership decided to first focus on gathering legal grounds and evidence. 'We expect a huge volume of aggressive and sweeping investigations to be conducted, targeting both the [US presidential] administration and the private sector,' said Rachel Cotton, a specialist in congressional oversight at the law firm Arnold & Porter. According to Reuters, lawmakers intend to examine the president's family's business ties and the activities of large corporations that received government contracts; separate attention is planned to be given to the case of financier Jeffrey Epstein and the possible role of American banks in servicing his financial transactions.

What has changed in the balance of power

The practical significance of the upcoming investigations is determined by the results of the vote: according to preliminary data, the Democrats are gaining control of both chambers of Congress — the Senate and the House of Representatives. The opposition won an unexpected victory in traditionally Republican states, including Texas, Kansas and South Carolina. Trump acknowledged the election results but refused to consider the Republicans' defeat his own. More on the midterm elections — in a Gazeta.Ru article. Thus, for the first time in two years, the party gains the powers that allow it to investigate the administration — and it is precisely these powers that it plans to rely on.