A month after rioters broke into the Senate Hall in an unprecedented onslaught on Capitol Hill, former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial is expected to begin today at the same location, accused of incitement that led to a burglary that resulted in five casualties. If there is no shocking surprise, the trial will end this time too with Trump’s acquittal.
Trump last month became the first president in history to be ousted twice by the House of Representatives, with 232 deputies, including ten Republicans, voting in favor of dismissing the incitement to violence over the January 6 storm of his supporters on Capitol Hill in front of 197 Republican deputies.
Trump condemned the riots in the Capitol and pledged to transfer power in an orderly fashion (Photo: Social Networks)
Although Trump has ended his term, Democrats have made it clear that they are determined to continue the proceedings with the Senate impeachment lawsuit, and President Joe Biden has also made it clear that there is no escape from the procedure. A preliminary hearing on the legality of the trial is scheduled for today with a vote that will allow it to begin, and starting tomorrow the plaintiffs and the defense team will present their arguments.
It is still unclear how long the trial will last, but both parties have not hidden their desire for it to be shorter than last year’s three-week dismissal trial. Democrats want to quickly return to approving the Biden administration’s appointments and passing the government assistance program in the face of the corona plague, while Republicans want to put the affair behind them and not focus on the party’s internal disputes over the former president’s performance.
Donald Trump (Photo: SAUL LOEB / GettyImages)House prosecutors are expected to accuse Trump of his allegations of election fraud, and especially his heated speech at a rally of his supporters on January 6, of inciting the rioters to storm Capitol Hill in the midst of the election process. Prosecutors have not yet announced whether they will summon witnesses, although they have expressed a desire to question Trump himself, but they are expected to show videos and excerpts from social media to bolster their arguments about the former president’s responsibility for the riots.
On the other hand, Trump’s lawyers, David Shuan and Bruce Castor, are likely to argue that there is no constitutional basis for the trial since Trump is no longer president, but the prosecution noted that he was fired while still in office and therefore has continuity. The defense will also reject Trump’s claim of responsibility for the events and claim that law enforcement agencies knew in advance of the intention of some supporters to reach Capitol Hill, and in addition, they would argue that the president’s remarks were part of the first amendment to the constitution that preserves freedom of expression.
To convict Trump, and also prevent him from running for president in 2024, would require a two-thirds majority in the Senate. But apart from the 50 Democratic senators, it is estimated that less than ten Republicans will support the conviction and therefore Trump will be acquitted.