Donald Trump’s impeachment trial set to open in US Senate

Donald Trump will become the first former president to face possible conviction for his actions while in office, when his second impeachment trial opens on Tuesday in Washington.

Mr Trump, who was impeached in January by the Democratically controlled House of Representatives on a charge of “incitement of insurrection” following the Capitol Hill riot, is not expected to attend the trial.

While negotiations were continuing on Monday in the Senate about the final shape of proceedings, it was expected to be one of the shortest impeachment trials in history, and could conclude early next week. Some details were agreed by Monday, however.

The Senate will convene at lunchtime on Tuesday and meet for four hours of debate focusing on the constitutionality of the proceedings, which will be followed by a vote.

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Beginning on Wednesday, both sides will be given up to 16 hours of debate to set out their arguments, with proceedings beginning at 1pm each day, a process that could last up to the weekend. The trial is expected to pause over the weekend following a request from one of the members of Mr Trump’s legal teams for him to be permitted to observe Sabbath after sundown on Friday.

Role of witnesses

The trial is then likely to continue next week. One unknown on Monday was whether either side would call witnesses. It appeared that Democrats were siding towards relying on video from the January 6th riots to bolster their case.

It will be only the fourth impeachment trial of a US president in history. Mr Trump is also the first former president to be subject to a trial – a feature at the heart of Republicans’ argument that the process is flawed and the trial of a former president is unconstitutional.

In a 78-page brief filed on the eve of the trial, the two lawyers representing Mr Trump – David Schoen and Bruce Castor – asserted that the Senate "lacks jurisdiction" to try Mr Trump, because the accused is no longer in office and hence cannot be removed.

They also deny the central substantive charge – that Mr Trump incited the January 6th attack. Mr Trump’s legal team states the president “did not direct anyone to commit unlawful actions”, describing the assault as the work of “a small group of criminals”, and casting the Democratic-led impeachment charge as “political theatre”.

‘Fight like hell’

The team claims that Mr Trump was speaking figuratively in his speech delivered near the White House on the day of the attack when he said "if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore", while also arguing that his words are protected by the first amendment right to free speech.

But the nine House impeachment managers appointed by House speaker Nancy Pelosi to make the case against Mr Trump rejected the arguments of Mr Trump's legal team. In a response to the filing on Monday, they wrote: "The evidence of president Trump's conduct is overwhelming. He has no valid excuse or defence for his actions."

They rejected the argument that the trial was unconstitutional, stating that “presidents swear a sacred oath that binds them from their first day in office through their very last”. They also discount the defence’s reliance on free speech principles as “utterly baseless”.

Asked if President Joe Biden planned to watch the Senate impeachment trial, White House press secretary Jen Psaki replied: "I think it is clear from his schedule and from his intention he will not spend too much time watching the proceedings."

"He will leave the pace and the process and the mechanics of the impeachment proceedings up to members of Congress, " she said.