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After swearing in last week, it is this Tuesday, January 21, that begins the debate on the trial for the impeachment of Donald Trump in the Senate. Only two presidents before him - Bill Clinton and Andrew Johnson - have faced such a procedure. They were acquitted.
What are the charges against Donald Trump ?
Donald Trump faces two counts. The president will first be tried for abuse of power in the Ukrainian affair. At the heart of the accusation: a phone call , revealed by a whistleblower, between the American president and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Donald Trump is accused of having pressured him to Kiev to investigate the son of Joe Biden, his potential Democratic opponent in the presidential election, including by weighing in the balance a crucial military aid from the United States to Ukraine. In addition, the Democrats criticize the president for having subsequently blocked the transmission of documents and testimony during their investigation in the House of Representatives. This is the other count: obstructing the work of Congress.
In a 111-page file , the Democrats call on the Senate to condemn and dismiss Donald Trump for " overwhelming evidence ". For the prosecution, he endangered national security.
What is Donald Trump's line of defense ?
Lawyers for Donald Trump, who published a response to the accusations for the first time this weekend, say the proceedings are " constitutionally inadmissible ." They argue that the procedure is " a dangerous perversion " of the Constitution and attacks " the right of the Americans to choose their president freely ". This is the main argument hammered out by Donald Trump in his tweets for several months already. The defense also denies the facts that are accused of the billionaire. She emphasizes in particular that military aid has indeed been released. By omitting however to specify that meanwhile, the scandal had burst… The lawyers of Donald Trump called Monday the American Senate to acquit it “ immediately ”.
Who are the protagonists of this trial ?
♦ The 100 senators are the trial jurors, chaired by the patron of the Supreme Court, John Roberts.
♦ The prosecution team consists of seven prosecutors appointed by the House of Representatives, who conducted the investigation and charged the president. They are led by Democrat Adam Schiff, Donald Trump's pet peeve.
♦ The defense is led by White House lawyer Pat Cipollone. He is notably supported by two famous lawyers: the very media constitutionalist Alan Dershowitz, who defended several celebrities deemed " indefensible " like O. J Simpson, and Keneth Starr , who had been at the heart of the Lewinsky case and the impeachment trial of ex-President Bill Clinton.
How will the trial take place ?
First step this Tuesday: set the rules. The senators will decide the time allotted for the presentation of the prosecution and the defense, determine the duration of the questions posed then by the senators. They will also have to rule on an essential point: will or will there not be witnesses called to appear? The Democrats wish to question close advisers to the president, which Donald Trump had refused them during the investigation conducted by the House of Representatives, recalls Corentin Sellin, a specialist in the United States.
The associate professor of history Corentin Sellin this Monday morning in the program "Call on the news" 20/01/2020 - by RFI Listen
If there are no witnesses, continues Corentin Sellin, the trial should be very short and be completed in two weeks. If people are called to testify, the process could take approximately one month. For Bill Clinton, the trial had lasted five weeks, and three months for Andrew Johnson in the 19th century. Donald Trump himself predicted last week that everything would be " very quickly " done. The head of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, seems on the same wavelength. A short trial would allow the President to celebrate his acquittal during his annual State of the Union address scheduled for February 4.
Can Donald Trump be removed ?
For the vote of the rules which will frame this trial, as for the final vote, the balance of power in the Senate is unfavorable to the Democrats. A two-thirds majority, or 67 senators, is essential to remove a president. The Democrats have only 47 elected to the Senate: they would therefore have to convince 20 Republican senators to return their jackets. Very unlikely assumption.
Why are Democrats launching a lost procedure ?
In the middle of the presidential campaign , the Democrats seek to mobilize their electorate and present Donald Trump in a bad light. This is what their defense of the President reproaches them for. She accuses them of wanting to interfere in the November 3 election. Who will benefit from the procedure? For now, the president's popularity rating remains stable.