What to Know About Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial
The same Senate chamber that was overrun by insurrectionists will be, starting on Tuesday, the somber court for Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, as senators weigh making him the first president disqualified from future office.
The same Senate chamber that was overrun by insurrectionists will be, starting on Tuesday, the somber court for Donald Trump’s impeachment trial, as senators weigh making him the first president disqualified from future office. A year ago, following a trial largely drama-free because its end result was never much in doubt, the Senate acquitted Trump of two articles of impeachment. Much is different this time. Trump is an ex-president, the first to face impeachment proceedings after leaving office; the person wielding the gavel will be different; big-name defense attorneys aren’t lining up to defend Trump; and Republicans may be less united in their support of him.
The single article of impeachment passed by the House on Jan. 13, supported by all 222 Democrats present plus 10 Republicans, charges Trump with inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol that caused five deaths and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. The article of impeachment also notes Trump’s other efforts to overturn the certified election results, including a phone call pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to find just enough votes for him to overturn that state’s election.