Trump Impeachment Trial To Start February

Senate Republican and Democratic leaders have reached an agreement on the calendar outlines for the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump – with the substance of the trial set to begin February 9th.

The agreement, which Majority Leader Charles Schumer called ‘good progress,’ came after Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called for a delay in the trial, in a posture that got a boost from President Joe Biden, who is anxious to get his cabinet confirmed.

Under the outlines of the plan, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will transmit an impeachment article Monday, leading senators to be sworn on Tuesday night. A week later, on Feb. 2, Trump’s lawyers and impeachment managers must submit their answers to the impeachment article. The following week, Feb. 8, would be the deadline for the next round of trial briefs, according to McConnell’s office.

The trial could then begin on Feb. 9th.

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‘The January 6 insurrection at the Capitol incited by Donald J. Trump was a day none of us will ever forget,’ Schumer said on the Senate floor Friday night.

‘We all want to put this awful chapter in our nation’s history behind us. But healing and unity will only come if there is truth and accountability, and that is what this trial will provide,’ he said.

He said the delay after Monday’s article will provide ‘a period of time to draft their legal briefs just as they did in previous trials.’ The breakthrough came hours after President Biden expressed support for the idea of delaying a Senate impeachment trial of his predecessor – expressing at least general support for a proposal put forward by McConnell.

However, Schumer did not say who would preside over the trial, how long it might take, or whether witnesses would provide testimony.

McConnell said he would have preferred his original proposal to have the Household up the article until next Thursday. ‘We need a full and fair process where the former president can mount a defense and the Senate can properly consider the factual, legal, and constitutional questions at stake,’ McConnell said.

‘Leader McConnell is glad that Leader Schumer agreed to Republicans’ request for additional time during the pre-trial phase. Especially given the fast and minimal process in the House, Republicans set out to ensure the Senate’s next steps will respect former President Trump’s rights and due process, the institution of the Senate, and the office of the presidency,’ said McConnell spokesman Doug Andres. He called the deal ‘a win for due process and fairness.’

He endorsed the idea after rolling out more of his economic plan Friday afternoon, hours after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she will send over an impeachment article Monday which will kick off a Senate trial of Biden’s predecessor.

The legislative part of his plan, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, would get caught up in the chaos.

‘I haven’t heard the detail of it but I do think that having some time to get our administration up and running, the more time we have to get up and running and meet these crises, the better,’ he said when asked about McConnell’s offer.

‘I want to thank the Senate for passing out our Secretary of Defense. Looks like our Secretary of Treasury, looks like our Secretary of State’s in place.

‘So the more time we have to get up and running to meet these crises the better,’ he said, mentioning one cabinet nomination that had cleared the Senate – that of Auston Lloyd to lead the Pentagon – and two that had not.

His comment came after White House press secretary Jen Psaki, said Biden ‘believes that it’s up to the Senate and Congress to determine how they will hold the former president accountable and what the mechanics and timeline of that process will be.’

But how the trial will actually happen is in chaos, after Pelosi said she would deliver a House-passed impeachment article to the Senate Monday. The following day, the trial has to formally begin.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer announced Pelosi’s move on the Senate floor Friday at the start of the day’s session.

But he and Mitch McConnell, the Republican Minority Leader, have not struck a deal on how the trial will be run or on how to share power in the 50-50 Senate.

That leaves undecided the details of how the trial will actually unfold, and even who will preside, with Chief Justice John Roberts said to be reluctant, which would mean Kamala Harris could preside as vice-president, or Patrick Leahy as the longest-serving Democratic senator. Both voted to convict Trump at his first impeachment trial.

Democrats have their own reasons to want to delay a trial – but absent an agreement, it will begin directly.

‘I have spoken to Speaker Pelosi who informed me that the articles will be delivered to the Senate on Monday,’ Schumer said. He listed impeachment along with other pressing business as priorities, as President Joe Biden seeks to get a cabinet confirmed and move his agenda.

Word of when the article will make its way to the Senate provides some certainty about the start of the trial.

But after that, there is no certainty.

Complicating the picture is leverage Republicans appear to hold over the terms.

If senators don’t unanimously agree on a procedure, the Senate will proceed to the trial on a full-time basis, muddying the start of the Biden presidency.

It all ties together with the failure so far to reach a power-sharing agreement for control of the 50-50 Senate – with Democrats holding the technical majority but still not controlling committees until a new agreement is reached.

‘The Senate must and will do all three: COVID relief, confirmation of nominees, and impeachment trial,’ Schumer said from the floor.

‘The Senate will conduct a trial on the impeachment of Donald Trump, said Schumer said. ‘It will be a fair trial. But make no mistake, there will be a trial.’

On Tuesday, another step would occur with the swearing-in of the presiding officer.

The Constitution states that the chief justice shall preside over presidential impeachments, but a trial for a former president is a gray area.

The trial itself could begin Wednesday – although an entirely different schedule could occur if Schumer and McConnell are able to reach an agreement or if something could gain consent of all 100 senators.

Senate impeachment rules begin the trial at 1 pm the day after the articles are received. Senators meet six days a week at the same time each day until the trial is concluded. But senators could impose a different schedule if an impeachment resolution is agreed to.

Schumer said on the floor he has been speaking with Sen. Mitch McConnell about the ‘timing and duration’ of the trial.

Trump will be the first U.S. president to be impeached twice and the first to face an impeachment trial after leaving office.