Senate readies Trump impeachment trial
Both Democrats and Republicans expect the trial to last a week
WASHINGTON — Less than five weeks after his riotous supporters stormed the Capitol, Donald Trump is set to go on trial a second time in the Senate — an impeachment proceeding that will give the public the fullest accounting so far of the former president’s role in the attack, but almost surely not resolve a divided nation’s view of his legacy.
The split remains stark nationally and, in California, where a new poll finds that more than 9 in 10 Democrats, but fewer than 2 in 10 Republicans, say they believe Trump was a major contributor to the insurrection.
Only 11% of California Republicans favor a Senate conviction of Trump, compared with 92% of the state’s Democrats, according to a poll released Monday by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies.
Republicans, however, have their own internal divisions over the former president, with a significant minority viewing him as at least partially culpable and rejecting him as a continuing leader for their party.
Similar divides show up in polls nationwide and in comments by Republican leaders.
On Sunday, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., sharply denounced the proceedings in which the House impeached Trump last month.
But Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the third-ranking member of the House Republican leadership, defended joining nine other Republicans last month in voting to impeach Trump.
“What we already know does constitute the gravest violation of his oath of office by any president in the history of the country,” she said on “Fox News Sunday.” “This is not something we can simply look past, or pretend didn’t happen, or try to move on. We have to make sure this never happens again.”
A recent survey for The Associated Press found only about 1 in 10 Republican voters nationwide support Trump’s conviction. That could be about the share of the 50 Republican senators who vote to convict: In a procedural vote late last month, five Republican senators voted against Trump — Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Mitt Romney of Utah, Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania.
In addition to those five, a few others, including Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, are considered possible votes against the former president. But the total remains far short of the 17 Republicans who would be needed, assuming all Democrats vote to convict, as seems likely.
Democrats say that, even with the odds strongly against conviction, the trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday, must go on to provide some public and historical accountability for Trump’s conduct.
“Many Americans and, indeed, many senators may not be familiar with all of those facts that led up to that incitement of that mob,” Rep. Adam B. Schiff, D-Calif., said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”
“You really need to present that full picture,” he added.
Both sides expect the trial to last roughly a week, which would make it significantly shorter than the previous one, a year ago. That timetable might not hold, however. The full schedule and many other details have yet to be announced.
Trump and House impeachment managers are scheduled to submit final trial briefs Monday. In their initial answer to the impeachment charge last week, Trump’s lawyers made two principal arguments: The statements he made to supporters before they stormed the Capitol were protected by the 1st Amendment, and the Senate cannot try him because he no longer holds office.