U.S. Senators voted on February 9 to continue Donald Trump's impeachment trial.
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AP / SIPA
Donald Trump will be well judged by the Senate.
On the first day of his impeachment trial, Tuesday, US senators ruled: judging a former president is indeed constitutional.
The debates will therefore resume on Wednesday and should last a week.
But Tuesday's vote, with only six Republicans joining the Democrats, shows that the impeachment of Donald Trump, which could have paved the way for his ineligibility, remains highly unlikely: it would indeed require a vote on his guilt at the two-thirds majority (67 senators) requiring the support of 17 Republicans.
Donald Trump was indicted by the House in mid-January for “incitement to insurgency” in the assault on Capitol Hill by his supporters on January 6.
In total, 56 elected officials voted on Tuesday for the trial to continue.
The 50 Democrats closed ranks and were joined by six Republicans: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Ben Sasse, Pat Toomey, Mitt Romney and Bill Cassidy.
Mitch McConnell votes no
Cassidy, who voted no to the same question in late January, changed her mind after the Democratic prosecutors' presentation.
The Louisiana senator criticized the "lack of preparation" of Donald Trump's lawyers, who were hired only a week ago.
One Republican who hasn't changed his mind, on the other hand, is Mitch McConnell.
The boss of the Conservatives in the Senate, who had refused to bring back vacation senators to be able to try Donald Trump before the end of his term, believes that to stand trial when he has become an ordinary citizen again is unconstitutional.
It remains to be seen whether he will be more convinced by the arguments of the prosecutors on the merits.
In mid-January, he had assured that he had not taken his decision on the possible guilt of the former tenant of the White House, believing that the rioters had been "provoked" by the former tenant of the White House.
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Donald trump