Public not permitted at Trump trial

WASHINGTON: The second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump will start today with no public access, as January’s violent insurrection and the Covid19 pandemic keep Capitol Hill offlimits to almost anyone who does not work there.

The trial will take place behind a towering fence dotted with National Guard troops that was erected after proTrump rioters overran police and pillaged the Capitol on January 6.

The visitors’ gallery in the Senate chamber will be largely empty, unless senators abiding by social distancing requirements choose to sit there instead of rooms off the floor where proceedings will be shown.

This will be the first modern impeachment trial closed to the public, who will be able to watch only from a video feed controlled by the Senate.

Onlookers packed the seats of the visitors’ gallery for Trump’s first trial, sometimes late into the evening.

Sergeantatarms doorkeepers rotated groups into and out of the chamber, with rarely a chair remaining empty.

Tickets for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial were so sought after that a counterfeiting scheme targeting tourists was busted.

The Senate’s visitors’ gallery has been closed since March, when public tours were cancelled and most guests were barred from the Capitol because of the pandemic. — TNS