Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial kicked off today with a round of debate over whether the trial is constitutional.
Starting at noon tomorrow, each side will have up to 16 hours to make their case to the 100 senators who will decide whether to convict Trump on the charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Immediately prior to the insurrection, Trump led a rally in which he proclaimed his oft-repeated lies about the election being stolen and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, where lawmakers were voting to finalize Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
The House impeached Trump a week later, just seven days before Biden took the oath of office.
With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, it is unlikely they will reach the two-thirds threshold for conviction.
Trump is the only president to be impeached twice.
The proceedings in the Senate started just after 1 p.m. ET, and debate lasted nearly four hours. The proceedings adjourned just after 5 p.m.
Senate trial to restart at noon Wednesday
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will reconvene at noon ET on Wednesday after a day of arguments about the constitutionality of trying a former president for high crimes and misdemeanors.
The Senate voted by a 56-44 margin that the proceedings are constitutional, as only six Republicans joined with all Democrats.
On Wednesday, the nine House impeachment managers prosecuting the case against Trump and the former president’s defense team will start arguments about whether Trump incited an insurrection when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Each side will have up to 16 hours over no more than two days to make their case.
The House managers are expected to start Wednesday by rebutting the arguments Trump’s lawyers made before the constitutionality vote. — Jacob Pramuk
This is CNBC’s live blog covering the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump. The blog will be updated throughout the proceedings.
Former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial kicked off today with a round of debate over whether the trial is constitutional.
Starting at noon tomorrow, each side will have up to 16 hours to make their case to the 100 senators who will decide whether to convict Trump on the charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Immediately prior to the insurrection, Trump led a rally in which he proclaimed his oft-repeated lies about the election being stolen and encouraged his supporters to march to the Capitol, where lawmakers were voting to finalize Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.
The House impeached Trump a week later, just seven days before Biden took the oath of office.
With the Senate split 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans, it is unlikely they will reach the two-thirds threshold for conviction.
Trump is the only president to be impeached twice.
The proceedings in the Senate started just after 1 p.m. ET, and debate lasted nearly four hours. The proceedings adjourned just after 5 p.m.
Senate trial to restart at noon Wednesday
Donald Trump’s impeachment trial will reconvene at noon ET on Wednesday after a day of arguments about the constitutionality of trying a former president for high crimes and misdemeanors.
The Senate voted by a 56-44 margin that the proceedings are constitutional, as only six Republicans joined with all Democrats.
On Wednesday, the nine House impeachment managers prosecuting the case against Trump and the former president’s defense team will start arguments about whether Trump incited an insurrection when a mob of his supporters attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6. Each side will have up to 16 hours over no more than two days to make their case.
The House managers are expected to start Wednesday by rebutting the arguments Trump’s lawyers made before the constitutionality vote. — Jacob Pramuk
Senate votes that impeachment trial is constitutional
The Senate voted that it has jurisdiction under the Constitution to hold former President Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.
The 56-44 vote came after House impeachment managers and Trump’s defense team spent four hours making arguments on whether a president can be subject to a Senate trial after leaving office.
“The senate shall proceed with the trial,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who is presiding over the trial, after the vote was tallied.
Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, one of six Republicans who joined all 50 Democrats in voting to hold the trial, was the only senator to change his vote from the last time the question had been posed to the chamber weeks earlier.
To convict Trump, Democrats need at least 17 Republicans to join them.
The vote means that the trial will continue. On Wednesday, House managers and Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to begin presenting their cases on the article of impeachment itself, which charges Trump with inciting the deadly Capitol riot.
source CNBC