WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell proposes delaying the start of Donald Trump’s impeachment trial until February to give the former president time to prepare and review his case.
House Democrats who voted to impeach Trump last week for instigating the January 6 deadly uprising at the Capitol have indicated they want to be brought to justice as President Joe Biden begins his term in office, saying a full reckoning is needed is before the country – and Congress – can move on.
But McConnell in a statement Thursday evening suggested a more elaborate timetable that the House would pass the article on impeachment next week, on Jan. 28, launching the first phase of the trial. After that, the Senate would give the president’s defense team and House prosecutors two weeks to write a letter. The arguments in the trial were likely to begin in mid-February.
Senate Republicans are strongly united behind the principle that the institution of the Senate, the office of the presidency, and former President Trump himself all deserve a full and fair trial that his rights and the serious factual, legal and constitutional issues at stake , respects., ”Especially given the unprecedented speed of the House process, McConnell said.
Senate leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., is reviewing the plan and will discuss it with McConnell, a spokesman said. The two leaders are also negotiating how the new 50-50 Senate will work and how they will balance other priorities.
A postponement of the trial might appeal to some Democrats, as it would give the Senate more time to confirm Biden’s cabinet nominees and debate another round of coronavirus relief. Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a key ally of the president, told CNN Democrats would consider a postponement “if we make progress in confirming the highly talented, seasoned and diverse team nominated by President Joe Biden.”
The ultimate power over timing rests with house speaker Nancy Pelosi, who can start the trial at any time by sending the Senate the charge of inciting an insurgency. The California Democrat has not yet said when she will do that.
‘It will happen soon. I don’t think it will take long, but we have to do it, ”Pelosi said Thursday. She said Trump does not deserve an “ getaway card ” just because he has left office and Biden and others are calling for national unity.
Facing his second impeachment trial in two years, Trump began assembling his defense team by hiring attorney Butch Bowers to represent him, an adviser said. Bowers previously served as counsel to the former Govs of South Carolina. Nikki Haley and Mark Sanford.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham helped Trump find Bowers after members of his former legal teams indicated that they had no intention of joining the new effort. Trump is at a disadvantage to his first trial, in which he had the full resources of the White House council office to defend him.
Pelosi’s nine impeachment managers, who will prosecute the House’s case, have met regularly to discuss strategy. Pelosi said she would talk to them “in the coming days” about when the Senate would be ready for trial.
Shortly before the January 6 uprising, Trump told thousands of his supporters at a meeting at the White House to “fight hard” against the election results that Congress was certifying. A mob marched to the Capitol and stormed in, interrupting the count. Five people, including a Capitol Police officer, died in the chaos, and the House impeached Trump a week later, with 10 Republicans joining all Democrats in support.
Pelosi said it would be “detrimental to unity” to forget that “people died here on January 6, the attempt to undermine our election, to undermine our democracy, to dishonor our constitution”.
Trump was acquitted by the Republican-led senate in his first impeachment trial. The White House legal team, assisted by Trump’s personal attorneys, aggressively fought the House’s allegations that it encouraged the President of Ukraine to investigate Biden in exchange for military aid. This time, Pelosi noted, the House is trying not to condemn the president for private talks, but for a very public uprising that they witnessed themselves and played out on live television.
“This year the whole world has testified to the president’s admonition,” said Pelosi.
Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, the number 2 Democrat in the Senate, said it was too early to know how long a trial would take or Democrats would want to call witnesses. But he said, “You don’t have to tell us what was going on with the crowd that we ran down the stairs to escape.”
McConnell, who said this week that Trump “ provoked ” his supporters before the riot, has not said how he will vote. He told his GOP colleagues it will be a vote of conscience.
Democrats would need the support of at least 17 Republicans to condemn Trump, a high bar. While a handful of Senate Republicans have expressed their openness to sentencing, most have said they believe a trial will divide and question the legality of bringing a president to trial after he leaves office.
Graham said if he were Trump’s attorney, he would focus on that argument and on the merits of the case – and whether it was “ incitement ” by law.
“I think the public record is your television screen,” Graham said. “So I don’t understand why this would take so long.”
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Associated Press writers Meg Kinnard in Columbia, SC, and Jill Colvin in West Palm Beach, Florida, contributed to this report.