Article to impeach to be sent Monday
Timing of Trump trial in Senate still up in air
WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment article will head to the Senate on Monday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced on the chamber floor Friday morning.
The House impeached Trump for “incitement of insurrection” on Jan. 13, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Dcalif., had previously declined to say when the House would send the article to the Senate, citing outstanding questions on the format of the trial.
Schumer said it was still unclear how long the trial will last and when it will begin in earnest, issues he is still discussing with Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell.
“But make no mistake, a trial will be held in the United States Senate, and there will be a vote whether to convict the president,” Schumer said.
The timing on when the House would transmit the article had been left in the air as the Senate changed from Republican to Democratic control and worked quickly to confirm several of Biden’s Cabinet nominees.
Schumer and Mcconnell also have continued to discuss a power-sharing agreement, since the chamber is split evenly, and the framework for how a trial will operate.
Mcconnell, the Republican leader from Kentucky, had been pushing for the House to send the document next Thursday and not starting the trial proceedings in earnest until mid-february. He argued the delay would allow Trump time to install a legal team.
“This impeachment began with unprecedentedly fast and minimal process in the House,” Mcconnell said on the floor Friday. “The sequel cannot be an insufficient Senate process that denies former President Trump his due process or damages the Senate or presidency itself.”
But the House’s transmission of the impeachment article on Monday will start the process of the impeachment
trial on Tuesday, several days earlier than Mcconnell’s proposed timeline.
Pelosi, in a statement, confirmed the House would send the article Monday, applauding the work of the nine House Democrats serving as impeachment managers and highlighting Congress’ “solemn duty.”
Pelosi downplayed GOP concerns that Trump would not have enough time to prepare for the trial, arguing “the former president will have had the same amount of time to prepare for trial as our Managers.”
“We are respectful of the Senate’s constitutional power over the trial and always attentive to the fairness of the
process,” Pelosi said. “Our Managers are ready to begin to make their case to 100 Senate jurors through the trial process.”
A complication is that the Senate is also working to confirm President Joe Biden’s Cabinet nominees and tackle the new administration’s legislative priorities.
Biden has repeatedly said that he believes the Senate can do both.
Democrats would need the support of at least 17 Republicans to convict Trump, a high bar. While most Republican senators condemned Trump’s actions that day, far fewer appear to be ready to convict.
A handful of Senate Republicans have indicated they are open – but not committed – to conviction. But most have said they believe a trial will be divisive and questioned the legality of trying a president after he has left office.
South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally who has been helping the former president find lawyers to represent him, said Friday there is “a very compelling constitutional case” on whether Trump can be impeached after his term – an assertion Democrats reject. Graham also suggested that Republicans will argue Trump’s words at a Jan. 6 rally before his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol were not legally “incitement.”
“On the facts, they’ll be able to mount a defense, so the main thing is to give him a chance to prepare and run the trial orderly, and hopefully the Senate will reject the idea of pursuing presidents after they leave office,” Graham said.
Other Republicans had stronger words, suggesting there should be no trial at all.
Wyoming Sen. John Barrasso said Pelosi is sending a message to Biden that “my hatred and vitriol of Donald Trump is so strong that I will stop even you and your Cabinet from getting anything done.” Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson suggested Democrats are choosing “vindictiveness” over national security as Biden attempts to set up his government.
Mcconnell, who said this week that Trump “provoked” his supporters before the riot, has not said how he will vote. He told his GOP colleagues that it will be a vote of conscience.
Contributing: Associated Press