After four hours of debate where both sides reiterated their arguments, the senators are now voting on the constitutionality of an impeachment trial for a former president out of office. A simple majority is required to proceed.
Senate Proceeds With Trump Impeachment Trial
A divided Senate voted to pursue the historic second impeachment trial of Trump following an emotional opening day in which the prosecution contended that the former president should be singlehandedly accountable for provoking the fatal siege at the US Capitol. The defense cautioned that the process would further sever a divided country.
The senators, now seated as jurors and vowed to deliver "impartial justice," voted 56 to 44 on the question of whether there was a constitutional basis for conducting a trial on an impeached president.
Six Republicans joined all 50 Democrats in voting to proceed with the impeachment trial. However, the vote also served as an indication of Trump's possible acquittal, considering the fact that 17 GOP senators would need to vote with Democrat senators in order to convict him. Senator Bill Cassidy joined five other Republican senators who had earlier voted that the trial is constitutional, reported CBS News.
In the US Capitol siege, thousands gathered in support of allegations of prevalent electoral fraud, which denied the former president's victory in the United States presidential election.
Democrats prosecuting the case commenced the proceedings by displaying a dramatic video montage of the former president's January 6 speech and the fatal storming of his supporters.
According to Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland regarding the footage, "That's a high crime and misdemeanor. If that's not an impeachable offense, then there's no such thing," reported BBC.
The decision cleared the way for several days of arguments over whether the former president should be pronounced guilty of provoking the assault on the US Capitol.
A number of Republican senators also denounced the performance of Trump's lawyers.
The decision concluded the first day of the unprecedented trial. The Senate adjourned until Wednesday, briefly following the tabulation of votes.
Voting against was former Senate Majority leader, Mitch McConnell who earlier had postponed the impeachment trial until the former president was no longer in office.
Trump's attorneys, David Schoen and Bruce Castor, argued on Tuesday that there is no legal justification to conduct a trial for a president who has been removed from office. However, senators sided with House managers prosecuting the case, along with a large cluster of legal experts, that the Senate is bound to hold a trial taking into account that Trump was impeached prior to leaving office.
The Democrats' 13-minute footage concluded with the former president's deleted tweet on January 6, indicating "these are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away," reported CNN.
Castor cautioned that a second impeachment trial in 1 year and one month would "open the floodgates" to upcoming impeachments, also suggesting former Obama administration Attorney General Eric Holder could be impeached.
