Here’s Everything You Need To Know As Second Trump Impeachment Trial Opens

The big day has finally arrived: After weeks of bickering, the first session in Trump’s impeachment trial will feature presentations from both sides over the Senate’s authority to hear the case, followed by a vote on the matter, which would require a simple majority, and is expected to pass in the Democratic-controlled chamber.

Of course, starting with the Senate likely won’t be a good look for Trump, as the opposition supporting impeachment is expected to draw some Republican votes. As many asccc five GOP senators, including Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, have previously sided with Democrats on a question related to the constitutionality of trying the former president.

67 votes are required to convict Trump, meaning at least 17 Republicans would need to join all 50 Democrats. Only a handful of Republicans have indicated they could vote guilty. But if enough do, then Trump will be barred from seeking office.

The Democratic impeachment managers, mostly members of they hyperpartisan House of Representatives, warned that they are “set to argue that a president isn’t exempt from a trial just because impeachable actions occurred in the final weeks of the administration.”

“Presidents do not get a free pass to commit high crimes and misdemeanors near the end of their term,” impeachment managers argued in a brief last week. “Allowing presidents to subvert elections without consequence would encourage the most dangerous of abuses.”

As far as whatever this impeachable actions might be, on Monday, Trump’s lawyers said the president didn’t incite the crowd and that the rioters who breached the Capitol “did so of their own accord and for their own reasons.”

The lawyers said that in Trump’s speech that day he used the word “fight” a “little more than a handful of times and each time in the figurative sense,” making no explicit mention of rioting. The lawyers said the president was exercising his First Amendment rights.

The impeachment managers, acting as prosecutors during the trial, responded in their own five-page brief, saying Mr. Trump “has no valid excuse or defense” for his actions. “His efforts to escape accountability are entirely uunraveling.

Beyond impeachment, even if the Biden team did somehow manage to pacify the GOP, the Democratic Party’s insurgent leftists, a group of House legislators led by AOC, Ilhan Omar along with her rockstar peers are placing tremendous pressure on Nancy Pelosi to back, or at least hold a caucus vote on the $15 national minimum wage.

For the record, this is how the trial will unfold:

Feb. 9: There will be four hours of debate equally divided between prosecutors and defense on whether the trial is constitutional, followed by a vote needing a simply majority to proceed e

Feb. 10: House of Representatives will begin arguing its case; prosecutors and defense will have up to 16 hours each to present their arguments, with neither side permitted to present for more than eight hours per day.

Feb. 11: On Tuesday, up to four hours of debate are allotted for the question of whether it is within the bounds of the Constitution to hold a trial for a president who is out of office but whose alleged crimes occurred during his tenure. A Congressional Research Service report from January concluded that while the matter is open to debate, the weight of scholarly authority agrees that former officials can be impeached and tried.

Feb. 12: The trial will break through Saturday Feb. 14, 2:00 p.m. ET: The trial will reconvene Sunday Arguments will be followed by four hours for senators’ questions If the House impeachment managers want to call witnesses or subpoena documents, there will be two hours of debate by each side followed by a Senate vote on whether to allow this If witnesses are called, there will be enough time given to depose them, and for each party to complete discovery before testimony is given Once witnesses and evidence is dealt with, there will be four hours of closing arguments divided evenly between the prosecutors and defense Lastly will come the vote on conviction or acquittal, for which a two-thirds majority is required yeah qtr did i think great

To be sure, there are some skeptics within the Trump camp: personal lawyers Bruce L. Castor Jr., David Schoen and Michael van der Veen, have all argued that the trial is improper, and just another major risk for President Trump , who could have simply walked away.