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Status: 01/27/2021 1:32 am
The hopes of American Democrats that former President Trump will be convicted have been dashed. A vote in the Senate made it clear that the two-thirds majority required for this in the Senate is unlikely.
An overwhelming majority of Republicans in the Senate have spoken out against continuing impeachment proceedings against former US President Donald Trump. After the senators were sworn in as jurors, 45 of the 50 Republicans in the House supported the corresponding objection from their party colleague Rand Paul.
This means that the process in the Senate will continue to develop from the second week of February. A two-thirds majority for a conviction, which in turn would be a prerequisite for the Trump suspension that Democrats seek, seems extremely unlikely.
Trial only against incumbent presidents?
Paul argued that the Senate could only try a sitting president. Trump was a private person after leaving the White House. Democrats, and most constitutional lawyers, do not agree with this view.
Paul’s motion was rejected by 55 to 45 votes, but Republicans supported it with a large majority. Only five Republicans, and all 50 Democrats, voted against the motion. “45 senators have agreed that this fraudulent ‘process’ is unconstitutional,” Paul later wrote on the short message service Twitter. “That’s more than we will need to acquit (Trump) and end this partisan impeachment process. This ‘process’ is dead when it reaches the Senate.”
At least 17 Republicans would have to agree
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer misrepresented Paul’s argument. Otherwise, a president could avoid impeachment and suspension from office by committing crimes against the country just before the end of his term or by resigning before a Senate trial. Under the constitution, the decision on impeachment procedures rests solely with the Senate.
The House of Representatives had brought charges against Trump for inciting a riot in the Senate. If all 50 Democratic senators vote unanimously to convict Trump, they should be accompanied by at least 17 Republicans.
