{"articles":[{"reaction_config":[{"text":"Yes","color":"#624960","stance":"yes"},{"text":"Maybe","color":"#edb723","stance":"maybe"},{"text":"No","color":"#4ac6ec","stance":"no"}],"id":36511,"title":"McConnell Outlines Process for Potential Senate Impeachment Trial","html_content":"

by Countable's Trump Impeachment Coverage | 10.18.19

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) briefed Republican senators this week on how the chamber would conduct an impeachment trial of President Donald Trump if the House votes to impeach the president.

Here are some of the details McConnell shared about how an impeachment trial would play out in the Senate:

Once the trial begins, the Senate will be in session six days a week, Monday through Saturday, for impeachment proceedings beginning in the afternoon around 12:30pm. The trial wouldn’t have a set end date, it would continue indefinitely until the Senate votes to convict and remove the president, acquit the president, or dismiss the trial. (For reference, President Bill Clinton’s impeachment trial took five weeks.)
As jurors in the impeachment trial, all senators would be required to attend the proceedings and remain silent while they are underway.
The only people in the Senate chamber allowed to speak during the proceedings would be the presiding judge, the House impeachment managers in their role as prosecutors, and the president’s defense counsel in their role.
Chief Justice John Roberts would preside over the president’s impeachment trial, as required by the Constitution. He would have the ability to rule on motions made by the House lawyers and the president’s counsel during the trial.
The House impeachment managers and White House lawyers would be able to put forward a motion to dismiss the charges, which would require a majority vote to end the impeachment trial.
It’s unclear whether the Senate will be able to take up legislation in the morning before it starts trial proceedings for the day, it would likely require a bipartisan compromise to do so.

When the Senate begins the trial depends entirely on when the House approves articles of impeachment. At present, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) hasn’t indicated that the House will vote on articles of impeachment, let alone offered a timeframe for considering them.

Lawmakers from both parties have expressed an interest in getting the process over with before the Christmas recess at the end of 2019 or before the 2020 presidential primaries begin in February (particularly given that several Democratic presidential contenders are members of Congress).

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr / Creative Commons)

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