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Senators, by 56 votes to 44, ruled that the historic process was unconstitutional and rejected efforts by Trump’s lawyers to block it, arguing that the former president could not be tried by lawmakers.
In a vote before Wednesday’s main impeachment trial, six Republicans supported all 50 Democrats in the Senate, where both parties have the same number of lawmakers.
Although the vote reflected the modest determination of both parties to act together, its result shows that Democrats are unlikely to win the support of 17 Republicans required by a two-thirds majority to convict Trump of inciting the rebellion.
Trump is the first president to face two impeachment trials: he was acquitted in 2020 on charges of abuse of power. Furthermore, this is the first time in history that a president who is no longer in office has been tried.
Reuters / Photo by Scanpix / Donald Trump
Previously, both parties presented introductory arguments. Democrats have argued that Trump broke his oath in an open attempt to stay in power when he lost the November election to Joe Biden.
By refusing to accept defeat, Trump spread a lie about election fraud and repeatedly pressured officials, including his vice president, Mike Pence, to try to block the transfer of power.
Finally, on January 6, Trump asked his angry supporters gathered near the White House to “fight fiercely.” The crowd chanted: “Stop [rinkimų] robbery ”and then attacked the Capitol, where Pence and lawmakers had gathered to confirm Biden’s victory.
“If Congress simply stepped aside from such an extraordinary crime against the Republic, it would encourage future presidents to exercise power without fear of accountability,” said Joe Neguse, one of the leading Democrats on the impeachment.
But perhaps most impressed was the lengthy video montage of Trump supporters on January 6 storming the United States Capitol in the ornate Senate Hall.
That video contained excerpts from Trump’s anti-riot speech, followed by scenes of violence when his supporters invaded the Capitol.
Many senators themselves saw these events and were forced to flee from the rioters.
“If it’s not an impeachment offense, then there’s no such thing,” said Jamie Raskin, leader of the impeachment teams.
With tears in his eyes, Raskin recounted how he, along with members of his family who came to see Biden’s victory confirmed, got stuck in the hallway, shouting “the sound of a knock on the door, the most terrifying sound I’ve heard”.
“This cannot be the future of America,” the senator warned the impeachment chief.
Republican Senator James Inhofe told AFP that the video shown at the hearing was “quite impressive.”
Democrats “selectively did some things that made a big impression,” he said, adding that he had not yet decided how to vote in the final impeachment vote.
However, Trump’s attorney, David Schoen, said the Senate had no jurisdiction to try the outgoing Trump and warned that the process could “tear the country apart.”
As a result, the United States will remain “much more divided and our position in the world will get much worse,” argued the lawyer.
Still, Republican Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to continue the process, wrote on Twitter that the “constitutional arguments of the Democrats are much stronger” than Trump’s lawyers.
Following Tuesday’s introductory remarks by Democratic “impeachment leaders” and Trump’s attorneys, both sides will begin to develop their arguments with Democrats starting Wednesday.
Under impeachment rules, each party will have until 4 pm within two days, with meetings starting at noon local time (7 pm Lithuanian time).
In addition, four more hours will be given to questions from the senators.
An unprecedented process
Trump is the first president of the United States to be indicted twice. In 2020, he was acquitted of allegations of abuse of power.
Trump is also the first former president to be charged after he left the White House.
His lawyers rely primarily on the procedural argument that the former president cannot be tried. They called the process “absurd” in the Senate.
VIDEO: Donald Trump supporters storm the Capitol
They also argue that any of Trump’s comments during the January 6 rally are upheld by constitutional freedom of expression and cannot be considered an order to attack Congress.
With the current balance of power, there is little doubt that Trump, who is currently locked up in his private luxury resort of Mar-a-Lago in Florida, will be acquitted.
Baffled by Trump’s four-year populist statements that he is fighting the political elite on behalf of the common people, many Republican voters continue to support the former president by turning his party even further to the right.
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