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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S historic impeachment trial begins in earnest in the Senate today, with Democrats calling for his removal from office and Republicans determined to acquit him – and quickly, if possible.
Four months after the Ukraine scandal exploded and went on to overshadow the end of Trump’s term, and 10 months before Americans go to the polls to decide whether to re-elect him, the 100 members of the Senate will gather today at 1pm (6pm Irish time) with chief justice John Roberts presiding over the trial.
The job of these lawmakers, sworn in last week as jurors, is to decide if Trump abused his office and obstructed Congress as charged in two articles of impeachment approved last month by the House of Representatives.
They state that Trump tried to pressure Ukraine into interfering in the 2020 US election to help him win, and then tried to thwart a congressional probe of his behavior.
It will be only the third time a president has endured an impeachment trial, after Andrew Johnson in 1868 and Bill Clinton in 1999.
Part of the scandal centers on a 25 July telephone call in which Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump’s potential opponent in the November vote.
Democrats, who control the House of Representatives and led the investigation, accuse Trump of manipulating Ukraine by withholding nearly $400 million in military aid for its war against Russian-backed separatists and a White House meeting for Zelensky until the latter announced a Biden probe.
‘Nothing wrong’
“The president did nothing wrong,” Trump’s lawyers responded in a 110-page brief submitted to the Senate yesterday.
This echoes the repeated assertions of the 73-year-old real estate magnate that the saga is a political witch hunt and a hoax, and that his phone call with the Ukrainian leader was “perfect”.
In the president’s brief, his 12-man legal team contested the very idea of his impeachment.
They called the two articles of impeachment – approved largely along party lines in the Democratic-controlled House – the product of “a rigged process” and “constitutionally deficient on their face” because they involved no violation of established law.
That team, which has recruited high-profile lawyers such as Kenneth Starr, who tried to bring down Clinton over his affair with Monica Lewinsky, said in the brief, “The Senate should reject the Articles of Impeachment and acquit the president immediately.”
The practicalities of impeachment
Trump looks almost certain to be acquitted because of the 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate.
He will be abroad as his trial opens; Trump left late last night for the economic forum in Davos, Switzerland.
The first order of business today will be to set the rules, such as how long they will hear the arguments of the House managers, or prosecutors; how long they will hear the defence; the time allotted for questions, submitted by the senators but read by Roberts; and whether they will call witnesses or seek other evidence.
How long the trial will last is up in the air: the White House has said it expects the trial to be over in two weeks. Clinton’s trial lasted five weeks.
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In fairness he does have more important issues to deal with, than this charade
@Dan2078: Yes he has to try to find another country to extort into carrying out dirt digging on one of his opponents.
@Paraic: Mr Trump will (has) won, even before the case is heard! Demacrats looking stupid really, and the taxpayers left with the bill!
@Dom Layzell: who are demacrats? Have you read the evidence against him? Perhaps not letting someone away with crimes while in office might be worth the taxpayers money
@Dom Layzell: yeah the cheek of them doing their jobs and holding a lawless president to account. And don’t worry about the bill, the money gotten from Trumpys list of prosecuted flunkies should cover it.
@Dan2078: yeah he’s got a multitude of other ways to enrich himself and abuse the power of his office for his own private interests to be getting on with.
@Forest Hump: well Forest, you seem to have got the jist, despite the bad spelling! You seem to catch up quick, on some things anyway!
@Dom Layzell: gist.
@Forest Hump: What evidence?! Asking a foreign leader to investigate corruption involving a US citizen!? When they fail here, theyll probably try and impeach him next for bad table manners! The dims have created a bad precedent here. All future presidents will be impeached for not committing crimes.
@gm_cmanning: Youre a funny man.
@Dom Layzell: I take it that means you didn’t read any of the evidence? A bit of reading might help improve your spelling
@JackSimpson: have you read the evidence yourself? Please tell me you have, I’m tired of debating against people who haven’t
@JackSimpson: it was in regard to an upcoming election, you conveniently left that out. Sure if they don’t impeach him on that they should have impeached him on:
- looked to bring back Russian spies expelled by Obama
- didn’t punish Russia after proof of interference in 2016 election
- has been recorded saying he would welcome future interference in election
- bypassed congress to send weapons to Saudi
- exposed US submarine locations
- exposes US Navy seal locations and names in Iraq
- evidence of bribes to remove china’s firework tariff
- evidence of bribes to assist chinese phone company ZTE
I could go on…
@Forest Hump: You appear to have determined Trump’s guilt based purely on what you have read in the media, because I presume you do not have access to US intelligence information or White House transcripts ? How does that make you any different to the biased jurors in this charade laughably described as a ‘trial’.
@Forest Hump: And when I say biased jurors, I am referring to republicans as well as democrats. Every one of them, to a person, has already publically stated their intentions when it comes to guilty or not guilty. They had made up their minds before this show trial even began. Justice, American style.
@Forest Hump: I know you Guys say that Trump’s people are thick, so I’d hate to remove any doubt by showing any improvements in my spelling!
@Dom Layzell: case closed!!!
@Dom Layzell: hahaha
@Tommy Roche: I
@Tommy Roche: I
@Tommy Roche: how about I just leave this here so – independent government watchdog says trump illegally withheld aid to Ukraine. I give up here now, no point in talking to a brick wall
@Dan2078: like what putter to use?
@Tommy Roche: read in the media? Have you not read his tweets nor listened the rubbish he spits out…..in his very own words? What is wrong with you. Do you not remember his own words attacking the free press, inciting violence, bypassing congress (and more)…..straight out of that foolish mans mouth….his own words??????? You do not need any media to back up any of the multiple incidents of impeachments
@Mark V: or which hooker to choose
Trump will leave the White House sooner, or later. What’s alarming is how partisan America has become. He should be removed from office, but won’t be. As for his defenders here and elsewhere… they need a long and hard look at themselves.
@David A. Murray: You are wasting your time, the trumpazees would rather wallow in their own ignorance than admit anything wrong about the elevated orange one.
@David A. Murray: you can notice it happening here and the UK
@Forest Hump: Both the US and UK have been severely fractured. This trialling of fascism needs to be contained. At least the Americans are hitting back!
Senate Republicans have already made up their minds and don’t care about the evidence, they are basically saying, “yea he did it, so what”
@ianglen: probably because they or others have done worse. They’re all as bad
@ianglen: kinda like how the Democrats ignored evidence during their process…
@523StarBar: that’s the real issue over there. Have you seen the net worth of people who have spent their lives in public service in the US? They earn less than $200k a year yet they all seem to be worth in the tens of millions. And they’ll openly spend millions on a campaign to get elected to those $200k p/a jobs. As corrupt as politicians may be in Europe at least they’re a bit subtle about it, the US political system is an absolute joke but it’s only those on the stage laughing.
Problem is, who’ll replace trump? Trump at least got people to notice the state of things in the US. I’m all for exposure of Trumps’ skeletons and it’s great we are all talking about it. Should they fail to hold him accountable, it’ll say a lot about the skeletons in many closets in the US! Hillary got away with murder and Bill her side kick going onto Loretta’s plane was something Trump wouldn’t get away with!
Trump has popularity on the ground in the US in some places, places where previous presidents’ left their people in hell and poverty. Trump played a blinder, improving things in their lives! The failing is the previous administrations who let their people down terribly, leaving this opening. What next? Biden? Clinton? It wont be enough to just get rid of Trump!
A cake walk for president trump instead ofthe perp walk his haters hoped for #TRUMP2020Landside
@kenneth clohessy: the fact that he’ll get away with this doed mean he is innocent. Hes guilty as hell but the republicans will not find him guilty. Great system.
100 People sworn in as jurors
All have already made their minds up before the trail begins.
In the land of democracy.
There were more impeachment articles against Bill Clinton than Trump. Let that sink in.
@Irish Snowden: Quantity vs Quality
it’s not a charade, he clearly broke the law
have your say