The upcoming impeachment trial for former President Donald Trump is set to be highly politicized, and decisions by senators on both sides about how they vote are almost certain to be made more fundamentally on political calculations rather than on the facts.
But the proceeding technically is meant to be quasi-judicial. The House impeachment managers will have a chance to make the case that Trump did what they accuse him of in their article of impeachment in both briefs and in person. And Trump’s legal team will have a chance to rebut those arguments.
Further, the senators are sworn in ahead of the trial to do “impartial justice” as they sit as essentially jurors.
“Do you solemnly swear that in all things appertaining to the trial of the impeachment of Donald John Trump, former president of the United States, now pending, you’ll do impartial justice according to the Constitution and laws, so help you God?” Senate President Pro Tempore Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., asked as he swore in his colleagues.
Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., the president pro tempore of the Senate, arrives at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021. Leahy swore senators in to do “impartial justice” during former President Donald Trump’s second impechment trial. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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CAN THE SENATE STOP TRUMP RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT AGAIN?
After both sides are done making their cases, senators will be asked to vote fundamentally on whether Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and his fellow impeachment managers successfully proved that Trump did what he is accused of in the impeachment article.
Here’s a guide to what Trump is accused of in his impeachment trial.
Incitement of insurrection
Incitement of insurrection is the fundamental charge behind the impeachment article. During Trump’s previous impeachment, he was accused of two separate things in two separate articles – obstruction of justice and abuse of power.
That led Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, to split his votes, saying that Trump did abuse his power but that the House did not sufficiently prove its accusation that Trump obstructed justice. Romney was the only Republican to vote for either of those articles.
That won’t be an option here – there will only be one article to vote on.
Lying about the election results
While there is one fundamental charge in the House impeachment article, the impeachment managers level a number of accusations against the former president to support the charge. Among them…
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