Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that Republicans and Democrats have approved a structure for Trump’s second impeachment trial.
Here is the structure provided by Leader Schumer’s office to PoliticusUSA:
– Up to 4 hours will be split equally between the impeachment managers and the former president’s lawyer to present arguments on the constitutionality of the process on Tuesday February 9th. After these arguments, the Senate will vote with a simple majority on whether the Senate is responsible for examining the former president under the Constitution. If a majority votes in favor of the constitutionality of the process, according to the provisions of the resolution, the following procedure will be followed.
– Up to 16 hours per page for impeachment managers and defense to present their case starting Wednesday, February 10th at 12:00 PM EST. The resolution states that each side must not use their time for more than two days and the presentation of each day must not exceed 8 hours.
After presentations from both sides, the senators had a total of 4 hours to question the two parties
– At the request of the impeachment managers, two hours after the Senator’s Question Time will be divided equally to discuss whether the Senate can consider requests for witnesses and documents upon request. If the Senate votes in favor, motions for summoning witnesses or documents are in place and the Senate will vote on such motions.
– When witnesses or documents are summoned, both parties may present witnesses and make appropriate discoveries. In this case, specific provisions for the conduct of depositions and testimony in the Senate would be included by order of the Senate in a subsequent resolution of the Senate, which is to be approved later in the process.
– Up to 4 hours divided equally between the impeachment managers and defense for final arguments.
– After the conclusion of the final arguments and the deliberation time for the senators, the Senate will vote on the article of removal from office upon request.
In contrast to Trump’s first impeachment proceedings, all sides were able to reach an agreement. It is interesting that documents and witnesses can be summoned. Senate Majority Leader Schumer promised a speedy but fair trial, and the whole process already has a better structure than the last time Trump was tried in the Senate.
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Mr. Easley is the Founder / Executive Editor, White House Press Pool, and a Congressional Correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a bachelor’s degree in political science. His thesis focused on public order with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and professional memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Political Science Association
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