The US Senate has voted for the second impeachment trial of former US President, Donald Trump to go ahead, rejecting his lawyers arguments that it would be unconstitutional.
After opening arguments were made by both parties, Senators were asked to vote if Mr Trump can be tried even though he is no longer in office. The motion was approved by 56 to 44 votes, with six Republican senators voting with Democrats and independents – Bill Cassidy, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney, Ben Sasse and Pat Toomey.
This means a trial with Senators sitting as a jury will get underway on later today, 10th February and will likely last into the middle of next week.
The House prosecutors kicked of proceedings by showing a lengthy film, produced by Mr Trump’s Democrat opponents, that showed the storming of the Capitol on January 6, from inside and out, juxtaposed with the shocked reaction of those within the debating chamber, the aftermath of chaotic destruction and also Mr Trump’s tweets.
“If that’s not an impeachable offence, then nothing is,” said Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer. He claimed that the allegations against Mr Trump were graver than any ever laid against a President.
Jamie Raskin, a Democrat congressman who is leading the team of “impeachment managers” ranged against Mr Trump. He reproved the idea that the former president was immune from prosecution, because his term has already finished.
“If the President’s arguments for a January exception are upheld, even if everyone agrees that he’s culpable for these events, even if the evidence proves, as we think it definitely does, that the president incited a violent insurrection.
“On the day Congress met to finalise the presidential election he would have you believe that there is absolutely nothing that the Senate can do about it, no trial, no facts. He wants you to decide that the Senate is powerless at that point, that can’t be right.”
Jamie Raskin
Mr Trump’s lawyers, though, were adamant that the trial was worthless, insisting that his remarks were protected by the First Amendment and asserted that he cannot be convicted as a former President.
Lead lawyer, Bruce Castor, insisted that there was no merit in having a trial that could remove a President from office, when voters had already done so. He also warned that allowing the trial to go ahead creates a “slippery slope”.
“This trial will open up more wounds across the nation. It is an attempt to disenfranchise 74 million American voters.
“The political pendulum will shift one day, when this chamber and the chamber across the way will change. One day, and partisan impeachments will become commonplace.”
“So the slippery slope principle will have taken hold, if we continue to go forward with what is happening today and scheduled to happen later this week.”
Castor’s colleague, David Schoen, then turned the trial toward partisan tones, saying the Democrats were fuelled by a “base hatred” of the former President.
He also accused Democrats of “abusing the impeachment power for political gain”, denouncing the impeachment trial as the Democrats “chance” to “eliminate Donald Trump from the American political scene”.
He said House managers presented “unsupportable constitutional theory and tortured reading of the text”, adding that he would show that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to hold an impeachment trial of a former President.
Schoen said the House should have allowed then-President Trump to present a defence, and answer the charges, and that now as a private citizen, the senate can’t try him.
“To impeach the president of the United States, without any semblance of due process at every step along the way, puts the office of the president of the United States at risk, every single day.”
David Schoen
Mr Trump’s lead lawyer admitted that he shifted his planned approach after hearing the prosecutors’ opening and instead spoke conversationally to the senators, saying Trump’s team would do nothing but denounce the “repugnant” attack and “in the strongest possible way denounce the rioters.” He appealed to the senators as “patriots first,” and encouraged them to be “cool headed” as they assess the arguments.
Many Republicans made it clear that they were unhappy with Trump’s defence with a number of them saying they didn’t understand where it was going — particularly Castor’s opening.
GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said Castor “just rambled on and on and on and didn’t really address the constitutional argument. David Schoen, who spoke second got around to it and did an effective job. But I’ve seen a lot of lawyers and a lot of arguments and that was not one of the finest I’ve seen.”
Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who voted with Democrats on Tuesday to move forward with the trial, also said Trump’s team did a “terrible job” and was “disorganized,” “random” and “did everything they could but to talk about the question at hand.” Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who also voted with Democrats, said she was “perplexed”, whiles Sen. Lisa Murkowki of Alaska said it was a “missed opportunity” for the defence.
Asked for a response to the Republican’s criticism as he was leaving the trial, Castor only said that “we had a good day.” His colleague, Schoen told reporters that he hadn’t spoken yet to the former President, but would “have to do better next time.”
“I mean, I always hope to improve. I hope I can do that.”
Mr Trump parted ways with his original impeachment team just over a week before the Senate trial was set to begin. Convicting the former President would need a two-thirds majority, which would require at least 17 Republican senators to vote against him.
