Donald Trump’s unprecedented second impeachment trial began on February 9 in the Senate. He is the first United States president to be impeached twice, and it is the first time an impeachment trial has been held against a former president. The trial will hear allegations that he committed “high crimes and misdemeanours” before leaving office.
As the historic second impeachment trial of Donald Trump got underway on Tuesday afternoon, the former President decided to spend the entire week watching events unfold on TV.
“A notable difference from Trump’s first impeachment trial will be the expected silence from the accused. During his first impeachment trial, Trump kept up a running commentary on Twitter, at one point posting 142 tweets in a single day as prosecutors laid out their case against him. Americans will be deprived of Trump’s analysis this time round, after he was banned from Twitter, Facebook and YouTube following the Capitol assault,” The Guardian reports.
A 56-44 vote at the end of the arguments determined the trial to be constitutional — so further proceedings can now go ahead. 6 Republicans broke rank with their party to vote in favour of the constitutionality of the trial. Forty-five Republican senators had already signed on to a motion before the trial started arguing that the proceeding is unconstitutional. Eventually, one more Republican senator defected at the end of Day One of the trials.
Who presides over the trial?
Trump’s first impeachment was presided over by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, according to US Constitution. However, as this trial is of former president, the longest-serving Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy, who holds the title of president pro tempore – will preside. It will be prosecuted by a team of nine impeachment managers from the House, and the whole Senate was sworn in as the jury on 26 January.
What could happen after the trial?
Since Mr. Trump is no longer in office, he can’t be removed from it which is what a conviction would normally lead to. Instead, in this unusual case, there could be another separate vote to bar him from running for office again. That would require a simple majority vote and would prevent him from running for President in 2024 which he has indicated he might want to do.
But even in the unlikely event that he is convicted and barred from running for federal office again, Mr. Trump could still continue to remain a force in American politics by endorsing candidates, holding rallies or becoming a conservative media personality.
