It’s On: Trump’s Impeachment Trial Has Officially Started in the Senate
Credit to Author: Cameron Joseph| Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2020 17:25:38 +0000
WASHINGTON — Trump’s impeachment trial has officially started.
The two articles of impeachment were read on the Senate floor by the House impeachment managers Thursday, kicking off the Senate trial.
“Donald J. Trump has abused the powers of the presidency,” House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), one of the seven impeachment managers tapped by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, read.
“President Trump solicited the interference of a foreign government, Ukraine, in the 2020 United States Presidential election,” Schiff said, “soliciting the Government of Ukraine to publicly announce investigations that would benefit his reelection, harm the election prospects of a political opponent, and influence the 2020 United States presidential election to his advantage.”
The Senate will actually be sworn in for the trial by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at 2 p.m. Eastern time, and the trial itself will get going in earnest on Tuesday.
The trial will run six days a week with breaks on Sundays, beginning at noon every day.
It remains to be seen how much of a real trial it becomes, however. Trump’s team has made clear they want a short trial, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has so far refused to commit to calling witnesses.
Cover: House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., joined by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., right, and House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., left, speaks during a news conference to announce impeachment managers at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
This article originally appeared on VICE US.