In less than 13 months, America’s President Donald Trump has been impeached for the second time by the House of Representatives for “incitement of insurrection” one week after he encouraged a mob of supporters that stormed the Capitol while Congress met to formalize President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. Making him the first president in the United States history to be impeached twice.
According to BBC News, He urged them to “peacefully and patriotically” make their voices heard, but also to “fight like hell” against an election that he falsely told them had been stolen. Following Mr Trump’s remarks, his supporters broke into the Capitol, forcing lawmakers to suspend certification of election results and take shelter. The building was placed on lockdown and five people died in the melee.
His first impeachment by the Democratic-led House of Representatives follows dealings with Ukraine in 2019, but acquitted by the Senate. The House voted 232-197 in favour of his second impeachment with 10 Republicans joining Democrats in voting to impeach Trump.
Following the House vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Trump’s impeachment trial won’t begin in earnest until he leaves office on January 20, the week President-elect, Joe Biden gets inaugurated.
In a statement, Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell said :
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Given the rules, procedures, and Senate precedents that govern presidential impeachment trials, there is simply no chance that a fair or serious trial could conclude before President-elect Biden is sworn in next week.”
He said it would best serve the interests of the nation if Congress focused on a safe and orderly transition of power for the incoming Biden administration. In a note to colleagues, Mr McConnell also said he had not made a final decision on how he would vote.
My full statement on the next seven days and the Senate schedule: pic.twitter.com/Nh5z3f79yq
— Leader McConnell (@senatemajldr) January 13, 2021
As noted by New York Times, “There is no precedent for the Senate holding an impeachment trial after a president has left office, but it has done so for other government officials.”
Conviction in an impeachment trial would not automatically disqualify Trump from future public office. But if the Senate were to convict him, the Constitution allows a subsequent vote to bar an official from holding “any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.” That vote would require only a simple majority of senators.
