Trump impeachment articles delivered to Senate
WASHINGTON, United States — Articles of impeachment charging President Donald Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress
Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell announced that the articles would
Senators will then
"This is a difficult time for our country, but this is precisely the
"I'm confident that this body can rise above short-termism and factional fever and serve the long-term best interests of our nation. We can do this, and we must."
The two articles of impeachment
"So sad, so tragic for our country, that the actions taken by the president to undermine our national security, to violate his oath of office and to jeopardize the security of our elections, has taken us to this place," Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said as she signed the articles.
"
The solemn formalities underscored the grimness of the occasion, Trump becoming only the third US president in history to
"We feel we are carrying out the will of the framers of our constitution, and that's a
'Two weeks'
He
But Pelosi held back on delivering the articles to the Senate as she pressured McConnell to agree to subpoenaing the witnesses and documents that the White House blocked from the House probe.
McConnell has refused to commit, saying the issue will only
A Trump administration official told reporters Wednesday that they expect the trial to go no longer than two weeks, suggesting McConnell could use his 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate to stifle calls for witnesses and quickly take the charges to a vote.
"I think it's extraordinarily unlikely it will
With impeachment rules requiring a two-thirds super-majority
Earlier Wednesday Trump ridiculed the investigation and trial, as he has for months.
"Here we go again, another Con Job by the Do Nothing Democrats," he wrote on Twitter.
Grave task
Underscoring the high level of politics surrounding the trial,
House Republican Liz Cheney attacked Pelosi and Democrats for being "giddy with excitement" about the signing and "making a mockery of their duty to the Constitution."
Aside from Schiff, the House Intelligence Committee Chairman, the prosecution team will include Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler, House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries, Zoe Lofgren, a veteran of two previous impeachment investigations, and three others.
Former federal prosecutor Elie Honig said the lawmakers chosen stood out for their backgrounds in the US legal system, several of them former federal attorneys.
The Democrats "signal they intend to do this like a criminal trial and not like a political show," Honig said.
Donald Trump, now former US president, has been impeached a second time.
Donald Trump's former chief of staff says he is no longer willing to cooperate with the probe into January's assault on the US Capitol, prompting investigators to threaten him with criminal prosecution.
Mark Meadows, who failed to appear before the congressional panel last month, is seen as a key witness to Trump's role in efforts to overturn the election by undemocratic means.
Having initially snubbed a subpoena to testify before the House of Representatives committee, Meadows later reached an agreement on sharing information with lawmakers — before reversing course again.
"Now actions by the select committee have made such an appearance untenable," Meadows' attorney, George Terwilliger, says in a new letter to the committee circulated among US media. — AFP
The US Senate is expected to deliver a verdict in Donald Trump's impeachment trial this weekend after his lawyers argued that the former president bears no responsibility for an attack by supporters on Congress after he failed to win reelection.
Defense lawyers wrapped up their presentation in just three hours, accusing Democrats of persecuting Trump.
This followed two days of evidence from Democratic impeachment managers, centered around harrowing video footage of the mob assault against the Capitol on January 6. — AFP
The US Senate votes to proceed with the impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump, rejecting defense arguments that it was unconstitutional.
Defense lawyers had argued that Trump should not face a trial in the Senate for inciting insurrection because he was no longer president.
But the Senate voted 56-44 to proceed with the trial, with six Republicans joining Democratic lawmakers. — AFP
The Senate impeachment trial of former US president Donald Trump will "tear this country apart," one of his defense lawyers says Tuesday.
"This trial will tear this country apart," David Schoen says on the opening day of Trump's trial for inciting the January 6 storming of the US Capitol by his supporters.
Schoen says the trial will leave the United States "far more divided and our standing around the world will be badly broken." — AFP
Former US president Donald Trump announced Sunday that he had hired two new lawyers to head his defense team for his historic second impeachment trial.
Trump's announcement came the day after US media reported that several of his impeachment lawyers had left his team, a little more than a week shy of his trial before the US Senate.
Trump said in a statement that "highly respected trial lawyers" David Schoen and Bruce L. Castor, Jr would lead his legal efforts.
Castor has focused on criminal law throughout his career, while Schoen specializes in "civil rights litigation in Alabama and federal criminal defense work, including white collar and other complex cases, in New York."
Trump, who left office January 20, faces trial on a charge that he incited the mob that stormed the US Capitol building in an effort to block his election loss to President Joe Biden. — AFP
- Latest
- Trending
