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First Day Proceedings of Trump Impeachment Trial in the US Senate

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Jennie Miller

On Tuesday, US Senate voted to move forward with former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, with a majority of senators determining they have jurisdiction to place former presidents on trial in cases of impeachment. The Senate rejected arguments of Trump’s attorneys by a vote of 56 to 44. Trump’s attorney asserted that holding an impeachment trial of a former president is unconstitutional. 6 Republicans also joined all 50 Democratic senators in voting to move forward with the trial. But the vote also served as an indication of Trump’s eventual acquittal, since 17 GOP senators would need to vote with Democrats in order to convict him. Point to be noted that Senator Bill Cassidy joined 5 other GOP senators who had previously voted that the trial is constitutional. Trump faces one article of impeachment for incitement of insurrection for his conduct leading up to the attack on the Capitol on 6th January 2021.

It is noteworthy that the US House impeached Trump on 13th January, when he was still in office. The Constitution is silent on the question of whether former officials can be impeached and to face a trial in the Senate. The first day of proceedings was dedicated to the question of whether the Senate has jurisdiction to try the former president. Trump’s attorneys and the House impeachment managers were given 2 hours each to present their cases to senators. The House managers argued that declining to hold the impeachment trial would establish a January exception, in which outgoing presidents could evade accountability for the actions in the final weeks of their terms. They opened the proceedings with a dramatic video timeline of the events on 6th January, showing hundreds of Trump supporters storming the Capitol to disrupt the counting of electoral votes.

The footage was juxtaposed with Trump’s speech to supporters earlier in the day. Trump urged his followers to fight like hell. A representative Jamie Raskin said, “You ask what a high crime and misdemeanor is under our Constitution. That’s a high crime and misdemeanor. If that’s not an impeachable offense, then there is no such thing”. Trump’s attorneys, however, argued that the Senate has no authority to hold an impeachment trial for ex-officials under the plain language of the Constitution. David Schoen is one of the former president’s lawyers. He called the constitutional theory put forth by the impeachment managers radical and unprecedented. Schoen also warned adopting it would make future elected officials vulnerable to impeachment long after they’ve left office. He said, “They’re willing to sacrifice our national character to advance their hatred and their fear that one day, they might not be the party in power”.

Source: http://www.vindulacms.com/first-day-proceedings-of-trump-impeachment-trial-in-the-us-senate/

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Jennie Miller
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