On December 18, 2019, Donald J. Trump became the third president to be impeached in US history, after Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. The two articles of impeachment, regarding abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, were prompted by a July 25 phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. After being impeached in the House, the trial has moved to the Senate. Senators were sworn in on January 16th and oral arguments on the rules for the trial began five days later.
Who’s Involved: Per the Constitution, all 100 senators serve as the jury for the case. The president is represented as the defendant by his own attorneys while members of the House, such as Rep. Adam Schiff, serve as prosecutors. The trial is overseen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, who will vote to break a tie if necessary.
How the Trial Will Proceed: It appears this trial will act in a similar manner to the Clinton trial of 1999 and will run six days a week from Monday to Saturday. Each side will have three days to present arguments to the Senate, beginning with the House, then followed by the president’s team. Subsequently, the senators will be able to submit questions to Chief Justice Roberts, who will ask the legal teams for responses to the questions posed.
Evidence for Impeachment: The evidence to be submitted is that of the autumn House hearings and the arguments made by both sides. Once opening statements and senators’ questions have been delivered, the Senate will vote on whether or not to hear from witnesses or reach a verdict. Senator Mitt Romney and Senator Susan Collins have suggested choosing the former. Either party may gain the power to force witnesses to appear upon the collection of 51 votes. Senator Ted Cruz has proposed a “reciprocity” resolution, meaning that President Trump would receive one witness for every one of the witnesses called by the House lawyers.
Possible Witnesses: The House is calling for witness from: White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney; Senior Advisor Robert Blair; Michael Duffey, Associate Director for National Security at the Office of Management and Budget; and former National Security Adviser John Bolton. Bolton said he would be willing to appear in the trial if subpoenaed. GOP senators have proposed hearing from the Bidens as well as from the whistleblower who began the impeachment probe last August.
Conclusion: After arguments have been made before the Senate, a vote will be called. In order to remove President Trump, the Senate requires 67 affirmative votes. If it succeeds, President Trump will be removed from office and Vice President Mike Pence will become the United State’s 46th president. However, this would require 20 Republican senators to vote “yes” on the articles, with no Democrat defections. If there are fewer than 67 affirmative votes, the Senate will acquit and the trial will be concluded.