United States: second historic Trump impeachment trial opens in Senate
A view of the capitol in Washington where the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump opens this Tuesday, February 9.
AP - J. Scott Applewhite
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
This is the first time in US history that a president has faced an impeachment trial twice in a row.
This first day of the hearing will be devoted to examining a request from Donald Trump's lawyers: they are simply asking for the trial to be canceled.
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With our correspondent in Washington,
Anne Corpet
Donald Trump's lawyers believe that since they no longer hold office as President of the United States, the procedure is unnecessary and is unconstitutional.
Democrats obviously think the opposite.
They argue that denying such a trial would amount to granting full immunity to all White House tenants in the final days of their tenure.
It is therefore a legal debate which begins this Tuesday, February 9.
Each party will have two hours to make their arguments.
A vote will then take place.
Democrats have a very narrow majority in the Senate so there is no doubt that the trial will be declared legal, and prosecutors can then present their charges.
It is unlikely, however, that
Donald Trump will
be convicted because it would require seventeen Republican senators to vote in favor of his guilt.
The leader of the Democratic majority launched an appeal this morning to his Republican colleagues.
He asked them to free themselves from political pressure and to examine the evidence that will be presented with the seriousness required by the procedure.
"
It is very important, it is the future of the country which is at stake
" declared Chuck Shumer.
Shorter trial and exceptional security measures
The trial is expected to be much shorter than last year.
The two camps want to end it as soon as possible, to be able to quickly return to the priorities of Joe Biden on the Democratic side, and to make people forget as soon as possible
the events of January 6
on the Republican side.
Exceptional security measures surround this trial.
Although no specific threat has been identified, federal police officials are on their guard and have declared a state of alert.
They fear further attacks from supporters of Donald Trump.
The National Guard is still deployed, the military is patrolling downtown Washington, and the security fence surrounding Congress has remained in place.
It is even topped with razor blades.
Access to the Capitol is tightly controlled and Democratic trial prosecutors enjoy special protection.
Elected officials are now escorted when they travel to their constituencies.
► See also: Trump impeachment trial: Bruce Castor and David Schoen, two lawyers at the front
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