The impeachment of former US President Donald Trump begins in the Senate in the second week of February, days after the House of Representatives sent charges against him, Senator Chuck Schumer, leader of the Democratic majority, said Friday.
This timeline reflects an agreement reached with the Republican minority in the Senate, which will allow the former president’s legal team to prepare and the Senate to advance on other pivotal issues, including the confirmation of President Joe Biden’s cabinet nominees.
The House of Representatives charged Trump a second time on Jan. 13, a week before he left office. This time, he is singled out for chasing his supporters at the capture of the Capitol on January 6. The chaos that broke out that day left five dead, including a police officer, and shocked the country and the world.
Schumer said Trump’s impeachment report will be delivered and read in the Senate at 7 p.m. (00:00 GMT) Monday. The 100 senators are sworn in as trial judges the next day.
Members of the House of Representatives appointed by President Nancy Pelosi as impeachment managers (effectively prosecutors), and members of Trump’s defense team, to be named, will have time to write their legal instructions.
“Once the briefs are written, presentation of the parts will begin the week of February 8,” Schumer told his Senate colleagues.
In the meantime, the Senate will decide on Biden’s cabinet appointments “and the covid bill that would provide relief to millions of Americans suffering during this pandemic,” Schumer explained.
“Healing and unity will come only when there is truth and accountability, which is what this trial will provide,” he said.
Members will consider whether or not Trump should be convicted of what the US Constitution describes as “serious crimes and crimes.”
Trump was charged with a single count of “inciting insurrection” during a speech in Washington at noon on Jan. 6, before a crowd of his followers stormed Congressional headquarters during the certification of Democrat Biden’s election victory.
– “Unprecedented speed” –
The delay in the process is the result of an agreement Schumer reached with Mitch McConnell, leader of the Republican minorities in the Senate.
McConnell had been a close ally of Trump in Congress for four years. But he persistently rebuked the outgoing president for repeatedly attempting to reverse the election results and for inciting protesters. And it left the door open for a possible vote to condemn Trump.
The influential Republican senator proposed delaying the trial until February, arguing that Trump needs time to hire lawyers and prepare his defense.
On Friday, McConnell recalled the “unprecedented speed” of the trial in the House of Representatives, where Trump was indicted after just one day of debate.
Trump is the only US leader to have been charged twice by the House of Representatives.
In December 2019, the Republican president was charged with “abuse of power” and “hindering the proper functioning of Congress.”
Trump was accused of asking Ukraine to investigate alleged corruption in connection with its then-political rival Biden in exchange for releasing crucial military aid for that country at war.
The Senate, then with a Republican majority, acquitted him on February 5, 2020 after a two-week trial.
Now that the Senate is made up of 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, and a two-thirds majority is required to convict Trump, at least 17 Republicans would have to vote against the former president for a conviction.
If that happens, another vote will take place on a ban on Trump from holding public office in the future, which would prevent him from running in 2024, as he has hinted. It only takes a simple majority to turn it off.
In addition to Trump, two other presidents were subject to impeachment lawsuits: Democrats Bill Clinton in 1998 and Andrew Johnson in 1868.
Republican Richard Nixon resigned in 1974 to avoid being charged in the Watergate scandal.