Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial began on Tuesday afternoon, beginning with a debate on the constitutionality of the proceeding. Starting on Wednesday, each side will have up to 16 hours over two days to present their cases to the US Senate, which will decide whether or not to convict Trump for inciting the violent insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6.
During the debate, which lasted nearly four hours, House impeachment managers showed harrowing footage of the deadly riot at the Capitol, interspersed with Trump’s speech to show how the crowds reacted to him asking them to march to the building and “fight like hell” for their country. The 13-minute video ended with a now-deleted tweet posted by the former president, which read: “These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away.” The Democrats’ lead prosecutor Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md argued that there was no doubt that the actions of the former president constituted a high crime and misdemeanour, saying, “If that’s not an impeachable offence, then there is no such thing.”
Trump’s defence team, on the other hand, argued that the trial was unconstitutional due to the Constitution’s language reserving the provision only for sitting presidents, while simultaneously emphasising that Trump did not incite the riots and that his speech on January 6 was protected by the First Amendment. The former president’s lawyers also accused the Democrats of engaging in the impeachment witch hunt again only to try to keep Trump from running for federal office again. “At the end of the day, this is not just about Donald Trump or any individual. This is about our Constitution and abusing the impeachment power for political gain,” defence attorney David Schoen said. He also noted that though Democrats have said that the trial is needed for the country to “heal,” it would “open up new and bigger wounds across the nation,” and disenfranchise more than 74 million people who voted for Trump.
Ultimately, however, when the matter was put to a vote, most senators agreed that the trial was constitutional, despite calls by some GOP members to dismiss the proceedings. A simple majority was needed to move forward, and the chamber voted 56-44. Of the 50 Republicans in the Senate, only 6 voted with the Democrats, with Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana being the only senator to change his vote from the last time the body was asked the question last month. The Democrats need the support of 17 Republicans to convict Trump. The trial will resume at 12:00 PM EST tomorrow, when the two sides will make their cases regarding the article of impeachment itself.
US Senate Deems Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial Constitutional
56 senators voted in favour of the trial, with six GOP senators joining Democrats' calls to move forward with the proceedings.
February 10, 2021
SOURCE: DREW ANGERER/GETTY IMAGES via CNN