Impeachment hearings in the Senate begin shortly.
Days after the House impeached President Trump, a trial will now convene in the Senate, where Democrats and Republicans are already arguing over rules and a possible motion to dismiss.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer will speak on the Senate floor before the trial convenes at 1 pm EST.
McConnell’s Outline of Proposed Rules
Per a four-page resolution found here, both sides will be given 24 hours over two days each.
After opening arguments and hours of questioning from Senators, there will then be a vote to consider bring in witnesses.
“If the Senate agrees to allow either the House of Representatives or the president to subpoena witnesses, the witnesses shall first be deposed and the Senate shall decide after deposition which witnesses shall testify, pursuant to the impeachment rules,” the resolution says.
“No testimony shall be admissible in the Senate unless the parties have had an opportunity to depose such witnesses. At the conclusion of the deliberations by the Senate, the Senate shall vote on each article of impeachment.”
However, Democrats are Crying Foul
“McConnell released an outline of the trial rules that largely resemble former President Bill Clinton’s 1998 impeachment trial. But the rules in Trump’s trial depart from Clinton’s in key sections — most notably in the time constraints placed on both sides to state their cases — and Democrats have been quick to cry foul,” as noted by CNBC.
McConnell is “hell-bent on making it much more difficult to get witnesses and documents and intent on rushing the trial through,” Schumer said. “On something as important as impeachment, Senator McConnell’s resolution is nothing short of a national disgrace.”
Not only Democrats accusing Republicans of attempting to “cover up” rules for Trump, they’re crying foul because as we saw in Bill Clinton’s trial, McConnell’s resolution “requires a specific vote in the majority-Republican chamber to consider evidence brought over from the House.”
Whatever happens, it’s still very unlikely that two-thirds of the Senate will vote to convict President Trump and remove him from office.
