OPINION
This article contains commentary which reflects the author's opinion
CONTRIBUTION
Supporters of Red White Blue News contributed to this article
Visit Red White Blue News on Facebook
We are now on Telegram - Join Us!
Signup For Your Free Newsletter!
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer revealed Friday that the impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump will begin in the second week of February.
Schumer made the decision following a request from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to delay the start of the trial until mid-February.
McConnell previously said: “Given the unprecedented speed of the House’s process, our proposed timeline for the initial phases includes a modest and reasonable amount of additional time for both sides to assemble their arguments before the Senate would begin to hear them.”
Under Schumer’s newly announced timeline, the House impeachment managers will read the Article of Impeachment at 7 p.m. on Monday, January 25, and members of the Senate will be sworn in to act as jurors on January 26.
Trump’s legal defense will then have to respond by February 2, the same day the House will be required to officially submit a pre-trial brief.
The former president will then be required to submit a pre-trial brief on February 8, and the House will be required to submit a rebuttal pre-trial brief on the following day.
After the rebuttal brief has been submitted, the Senate impeachment trial can officially begin.
Doug Andres, a spokesperson for McConnell, said the Republican Senate leader was “glad” Schumer agreed to provide more time in the pre-trial phase of the proceedings.
“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 the spokesperson. “That goal has been achieved. This is a win for due process and fairness.”
Schumer’s announcement that Trump’s second impeachment trial will start the week of Feb. 8 came after a deal with Minority Leader McConnell.
Here’s the schedule: pic.twitter.com/0rQFDZNmGW— Christal Hayes (@Journo_Christal) January 22, 2021
No president has ever been convicted in the Senate, which requires a ⅔ vote, following an impeachment in the House.
Reports suggest that 42 senators — all Democrats or Independents who caucus with Democrats — have said they plan to vote for a conviction.
Nineteen senators, including 14 Republican senators, have said they are open to conviction or have not expressly ruled it out as a possibility.
Twenty-six Republican senators have ruled out the conviction, and thirteen senators, including ten Republicans and three Democrats, have not made statements on convicting Trump, or have made ambiguous ones.
Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time.
Democrats charged him with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.
Ten Republicans (all names here) fled Trump, joining Democrats who said he needed to be held accountable.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — who claims that she and Democrats want unity — said earlier this week that Trump could be an accessory to murder after this month’s deadly riots at the U.S. Capitol.
“And the crime, in some cases, was murder,” Pelosi said. “And this president is an accessory to that crime because he instigated that insurrection that caused those deaths and this destruction.”