Trump trial awaits

McConnell expects fight for impeachment to start next week

THE Senate impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump is likely to begin in seven days with key players sworn in later this week, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday.

Mr McConnell said he expected the House of Representatives to deliver the articles of impeachment against Mr Trump to the upper chamber today Australian time. “We believe that if that happens – in all likelihood – we’ll go through preliminary steps here this week,” Mr McConnell told reporters.

“We hope to achieve that by consent which would set us up to begin the actual trial next Tuesday.”

Mr Trump faces charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, and the 100 senators will be his judge.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is expected to be sworn in to preside over the trial, which should last at least two weeks, and could run through mid-February.

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House speaker, called for a fair trial and demanded the Senate subpoena witnesses and documents from the White House that will be crucial in the trial. “The American people deserve the truth,” she added.

Mr Trump will become only the third president in US history to go on trial, risking his removal from office.

But his conviction is highly unlikely, given Republicans’ 53-47 control of the Senate.

Senior Democrats said they would include phone records and other documents provided by Florida businessman Lev

Parnas when they make their case that Mr Trump abused his power by pressuring Ukraine to investigate former vice president Joe Biden.

The president used a rally in Wisconsin to berate the Democrats. “While we’re creating jobs and killing terrorists, Democrats in Congress are wasting America’s time with demented hoaxes and crazy witch hunts,” he said.